Imbalance
by nikki-rookk
Summary: Four months after Kate Beckett sat on a swing with Richard Castle kneeling in the grass she's having a hard time overcoming her nerves. A special type of nerves only a bride can get right before a wedding. But then something happens that tips the balance, something that could change both Richard Castle and Kate Beckett's future. Based off of a comment I made on a tumblr post.
1. Chapter 1

Kate grips Martha's hand, a smile spreading across her face as all of the thoughts inside of her head finally align. It's always been him, and it always will be him. He is her one and done, and no matter what she tells herself, this is what she wants. Martha just smiles back at her, giving her hand a tight squeeze. "It's probably about time to get started." Martha whispers, looking at Kate with a smile and a small encouraging nod. All Kate wanted was her mom sitting across from her, encouraging her that she was making the best decision. She wanted to hug her mom, for her mom to see her walk down this isle, for her mom to dance with Castle at the reception. Kate took a deep breath, letting it all out as slowly as she could. But none of that mattered. No one could tell her what she was thinking or what to do. Everything inside of her felt right. This exact moment felt perfect. The past didn't matter; it can't be fixed and can't be redone. Everything is about the future, and if Kate was sure of anything, it was that Castle was the one she wanted to spend that future with, no matter where they lived. She stood up, catching her balance as her heels threatened to knock her over from the weight of the dress. She took another deep breath and Martha pulled her in for an encouraging hug.

"Do you think he's ready?" Kate asked, sincerity in her voice as she pulled back to look in Martha's eyes. She just gave a little smile.

"I have no doubt, kiddo." Martha moved to sit back on the couch but Kate kept talking.

"We've just been through so much lately. I know he wants to be with me, I know. He left a lot behind when he followed me to DC though." She looked at Martha with sadness in her eyes. "We're happy. Living together. But we don't work together anymore. I feel like I barely see him. And, even though all this wedding planning has been going on I've felt distance between us over the last few months. And just the other night it felt like he was getting cold feet. We both were actually." Kate looked down at her hands as she said this, her white wedding dress enveloping her fingers as she sat down on the couch opposite Martha. Tears welled up in her eyes and she gave a big sigh as she tried to choke them back. She had no idea where they were coming from until her own reasoning spilled out of her mouth. "I've just had this really bad feeling that because I'm ready to make this commitment; he'll run in the other direction." She looked up from her hands to find Lanie sitting next to Martha on the couch opposite of her. She hadn't heard her walk in, and the look Lanie was giving her made her choke on her tears.

"Katherine Beckett." Lanie's voice was full of anger and compassion, in only the way Lanie could manage. "Richard Castle adores you. He is in love with you. He has probably been more scared that you would run in the other direction. Which, if I can remember, is the reason he proposed to you in the first place." Martha was looking at Lanie as if she disapproved of the harsh tone in Lanie's voice but Lanie knew how to knock reason into Kate. "But listen honey." Lanie got up and moved to sit next to Kate, having to move part of her dress to do so. Lanie's demeanor had changed so quickly it made both Martha and Kate blink. She reached for Kate's hand, "if you aren't ready for this then you need to let him know. That man has done nothing but wait for you, and he can wait a little bit longer. All of this second thought. Maybe it's telling you that you _are_ worried." Kate opened her mouth in protest but Lanie just grabbed her hand. "I'm not saying you don't want to marry him. I know you. I know that this is what you want. But if you're genuinely worried that he'll run, maybe you should take the time to talk to him." Kate looked back down at her hands.

They had talked. At least she thought that they had. Kate hadn't wanted to say yes to his proposal. It felt too soon, too rushed, and too much like a reason to make her stay in New York. When she had told this to Castle as he knelt in the grass and she gripped the chain of the swing until her knuckles were white to steady herself, he had just shook his head and told her he was in it no matter what her decision was. He didn't know that she was choosing DC. She hadn't wanted to choose between Castle and DC and was going to ask him if they could make it work, but then he was kneeling on that grass, a glittering ring pressed between his fingers, everything she had been thinking was wiped from her mind as the words echoed through her head _"Katherine Houghton Beckett will you marry me?"_ She can still hear his voice say those very words in the back of her mind and she's pretty sure she'll never forget them. It wasn't until he was asking the question that she knew that that was what she wanted. She wanted him, wanted to live with him, marry him, have kids one day. She wanted him. Just like a year before when she had sat on those swings and decided she didn't care about justice anymore, she just wanted him, and it had taken almost falling off the roof of a building to figure it out. She didn't know if leaving New York was right, if the job in DC was right, if her decision to leave her life behind was right, but she knew her life with him was right. Everything in her head had aligned while she was sitting on those swings, just as it had a year ago and just as it had five minutes ago after Martha had helped her through her fears. The only time Kate knew exactly what she wanted was with Castle and she wasn't giving that up, even if she felt worried about other things, smaller things, they could still make it work. Their bubble would never pop because they _are_ both in it with the right person, he is her one and done and she is his third time's a charm. Everything felt aligned in her head once more as she turned to Lanie with a determined look on her face.

"This is what I want Lanie. We've talked. We've made it this far. I trust Castle more than anyone in the world, he isn't going to leave me and he isn't going to run. Yes I'm having my doubts, but it's just nerves." She looked over at Martha whose grin mimicked her own. She reached up and grabed the side of Lanie's head. "I love Rick Castle and I'm going to marry him today." She pulled Lanie into a hug and she just started laughing.

"That's the Kate Beckett I know." She pulled away and looked at Kate in the eyes. "He is one lucky man."

"He knows." A bigger smile spread across Kate's face as she said this and she stood up, a little too quickly, her heels getting the better of her again. "I think we're probably late." She tried adjusting her dress but Lanie had to spin her around to help her.

"Girl, it's all about you. They can wait." Lanie fixed the wrinkles in the dress as Martha moved around the room to pick up the last touches, a necklace, the bracelet Castle had given her so long ago for their first valentines. As Martha reached for the veil that would fall over Kate's face there was commotion outside the door. Lanie moved to open the door but Ryan and Esposito burst through it before she could take two steps.

"Should have locked that door! Javi, what are you doing?" Lanie put her hands up to stop them from entering but Kate could see Alexis standing outside behind them and she motioned at Lanie.

"Let them in, it's no big deal." She smiled at them but it was returned with stern eyes that wiped the smile off her face. She looked between the two of them, eyes landing on Ryan but it was Esposito that spoke.

"Kate, Castle's gone."


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Thank you all for your awesome and kind reviews! This is definitely a multi-chapter fic so don't worry! and I hope you like the direction it goes. :)**

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"Detective Ryan, have you seen my dad?" Alexis jogged over to Ryan and Esposito who were standing in the corner of the hallway adjusting their ties with cheesy grins on their faces.

"Um, no I haven't. I assumed he was in his room getting ready. We were actually supposed to meet here in the hallway about five minutes ago. We just assumed he was taking his time." Ryan glanced at the door at the end of the hall where Castle was supposed to be getting ready. Alexis shook her head.

"I was supposed to help him get ready. I knew he'd be nervous, I figured I could help shake off the nerves. But when I knocked on the door twenty minutes ago he didn't answer and the door is locked, I just assumed maybe he was in the shower or something. But now I've called his phone three times and he hasn't picked up." Ryan and Esposito exchanged a nervous glance.

"Maybe he just wants to be alone?" Esposito looked down at Alexis but she shook her head more. Ryan joined in with her.

"A guy doesn't want to be alone on his wedding day." Ryan said, looking at Espo.

"Especially my Dad. Last time he practically broke my hand when I tried to reassure him everything was going to be fine." The look Alexis gave Esposito made him move around her and head to Castle's door.

"Yo Castle, open up." He yelled, hitting his hand against the door. There was no response. Ryan had walked up behind Esposito and leaned against the door.

"Castle. We know you're nervous. Everything's gonna be fine. Just let us in." Espo looked at him.

"Really bro? _'We know you're nervous'_. What if he isn't nervous? What if he's perfectly fine and just decided to take a nap." Ryan banged on the door some more.

"Honestly, you don't know anything about wedding's do you? Castle open up!" Ryan put his ear against the door. He couldn't hear anything. He jiggled the door knob but it wasn't budging. Looking at his watch, he realized they were already ten minutes off schedule and even though he knew Castle wouldn't care, it did seem a little odd. He knocked on the door, gentler this time. Alexis reached between the boys standing in the door frame and pounded on the door.

"Dad! Open the damn door and let us in!" The boys just looked at her. "Something's wrong." She said. They didn't have to think twice. Espo reached for the gun he had attached to his leg, Ryan giving him a disapproving glance as they both stood back and kicked the door in, the noise echoing through the hall.

"Really Espo? You had to bring a gun?" Ryan said as he let him enter the room first.

"What? I'm a cop. I'm always armed. You telling me you didn't bring a piece?"

"It's a wedding and I'm off duty!" they entered the room cautiously.

"Yo Castle! You in here?" the living room was empty except for a glass of water on the coffee table. Alexis calmly followed them into the room and looked around as well. The room was silent except for the light breeze coming through the open window. She followed Ryan into the bedroom as Esposito checked the bathroom and the balcony. Castle's stuff was tossed all over his bed. The clothes he had been wearing when Alexis saw him this morning were on the floor, the empty bag that his suit was in was thrown across the bed along with Castle's hair products and wallet.

"He's not here." Alexis whispered. Ryan just looked at her, not knowing what to think. He walked over to the door and stood there, looking across the living room towards the bathroom on the other side. Esposito walked in from the balcony and when Ryan saw the look on his face he started to walk over to him but froze in his tracks as Esposito held up his hands. Castle's phone was in one hand, the glass screen shattered. And in the other hand he held a small black box opened to reveal a ring inside.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: You guys are just so awesome. Thank you. :)**

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Kate's mouth formed the word 'what' but nothing came out. She was frozen, eyes still glued to Ryan – refusing to acknowledge what Esposito had just said. Ryan's eyes looked sad but there was something else behind them that made her terrified. She finally broke away from Ryan to look at Esposito who wasn't even trying to hold back the emotions playing across his face, which wasn't like him at all. Kate's dress felt suddenly very heavy and her heals threatened to topple her to the ground, until her eyes met Alexis'. She wasn't sad, she wasn't angry, she was _scared._ It all hit Kate so hard in the gut that she found herself toppling to the couch without breaking eye contact with the boys.

"What do you mean he's gone?" Lanie's voice broke the silence which seemed to break the tension and apply even more at the same time. Ryan suddenly looked at Kate with a flash of realization across his face.

"No no no Kate. No. He didn't run. It's not like that." He rushed over and sat next to her as Kate just sat there and stared at him, her eyes pleading with him to explain because any attempt at speaking would let the strangling sobs escape her body. "Kate. Breathe." Ryan whispered to her in an attempt to hide it from the whole room but it was so silent, apart from Martha's sudden rustle towards Alexis, that you could hear everything.

"What's wrong? Where's Richard?" Martha's voice broke Ryan and Kate's eye contact as the panic in Martha's voice echoed throughout the room.

Ryan looked at Kate but as he spoke she had a hard time understanding what he was saying. "Alexis came to us in the hallway saying he wouldn't open his door or answer his phone. When we pounded on the door and he still didn't answer, we kicked it in and he wasn't there-"

"Except his clothes were. So was his wallet. He was already in his suit." Alexis chimed in trying to help before she went silent as the panic flooded her face.

"I went out on the balcony and found these." Esposito held up the phone and the ring box.

"Wait, you think he was taken?" The words escaped Kate's mouth more calmly than she expected and it grabbed the rooms' attention.

"It's the only explanation. It looks like his phone was stepped on." Esposito closed the gap between them in a few swift strides and handed Kate the phone. She held it gently in her hands, the rough glass threatening to cut at every corner. She pressed the home button and her stomach dropped as she saw the photo of her and Castle that he had set for his lock screen. She managed to swipe her finger across the jagged surface to unlock the phone and tears welled up in her eyes. The screen was still on his contacts list, her name was selected but he hadn't had time to hit call. She looked over at her own phone sitting on the table, but she knew it hadn't rang. She hadn't touched it since Castle called her right after she woke up this morning just so they could hear each other's voices. At the suddenly distant memory the tears began to fall down her cheeks and she didn't care. Ryan gripped her hand and she passed the phone over to him but didn't let him take it.

"It's evidence." She choked out. Something flashed across his eyes before he nodded and reached for a Kleenex before taking it from her. Esposito went out into the hall, and Kate looked at Lanie and hoped she would get the message. It was like Lanie read her mind.

"We're gonna need to tell the guests something. They're probably all seated." She glanced at the clock on the table. "We're already thirty minutes late." Ryan took the opportunity to let go of Kates grip and stand.

"I'll let them know." He said without looking back as he headed to the door.

"Don't tell them..." Kate whispered in his direction, almost to herself, so quietly that if the room hadn't been as silent as it was he wouldn't have heard it.

"I'll think of something." He brushed past Esposito as he reentered the room.

"DC cops and CSU are on their way, told them to keep it quiet. Gates is on her way up now, thinks she might be able to keep it under wraps, and…" he looked down and shuffled his feet. "I went ahead and called the hotel lobby and explained to them what's going on, they said they're more than happy to hold the ball room for the reception as long as we need." He looked at Kate who had dropped her head into her hands. Running her hands over her face, she took a deep ragged breath.

"Lanie help me out of this dress. Espo go meet CSU at the scene, have them set up a perimeter and start canvassing the area to see if anyone saw something. Martha, Alexis, you guys should sit down." She was out of her dress in one fluid movement, Lanie holding out her jeans and shirt that she had changed out of only an hour ago. Slipping into her boots and digging her badge out of her bag she stood for a moment to down the glass of water that had set untouched on the small coffee table. She knelt down next to Alexis who was now sitting on the couch next to Martha, both of them with way too much pity in their eyes as they looked at her. "Alexis, when was the last time you saw your dad?" Kate was full cop now, pushing her feelings aside just for the moment. Alexis' face filled with more pity at the sudden change in Kate's voice but she swallowed and gave a small smile.

"This morning, maybe eleven o'clock. Me and gram are staying in the room across from his and he came over to eat breakfast with us. He stayed for about an hour until gram shooed him out to go get ready. He walked out of the room actually whistling and bouncing on the balls of his feet. He told me to come to his room in about an hour, which would have been around one, to help him finish getting ready. I heard him use his key and the door shut behind him as he went into his room." She looked over at Martha who wrapped her up in a hug.

"Oh kiddo. He's going to be fine." She was looking at Kate when she said this, trying to reassure both of them but it wasn't really helping Kate at all. Alexis' story had made the feeling inside of her even worse. She had spent the morning trying to make herself eat something but the nerves wouldn't really let her, and then having to be talked through her sudden fears by Martha who had come by to help her get ready. All the while he was probably whistling the wedding march with the biggest goofy grin on his face. All of her worries seemed so small now.

"Did you see anything suspicious when you came down here, Martha?" Kate tried to hold back the tears that were suddenly building up. Martha just gave a small shake of her head.

"It was silent. That was at about one, when Alexis went back into the room to grab one last thing I went ahead and jumped on the elevator to come down here." Her eyes scanned the room they were in and Kate did the same. The encouraging talk they had had only about an hour ago seemed so distant. Alexis' voice filled the silent void.

"I went back in to grab my bag, I wasn't sure if I would make it back to the room. That was when I went over and knocked on his door. I didn't hear anything. I knocked a few more times but he didn't answer. I just assumed he was in the shower or something and when I went to call him he didn't answer. So I went back to our room thinking I'd wait ten minutes and try again. When I did, he still didn't answer and I called him two more times. When I went out the second time I saw Ryan and Esposito standing at the end of the hall, so when he didn't answer the door I went to them." Alexis swallowed. She seemed to be handling this a lot better than Kate was. Kate was having a horrible time breathing and it wasn't until Lanie came up behind her to grip her arm that she realized she had started to lose her balance and that Lanie was still even in the room.

"Kate, you should probably sit down." Lanie tried leading her to the other couch but Kate shook her off.

"No, I need to go upstairs and see if CSU has found anything." She started for the door but Lanie caught up with her.

"You really think Gate's is going to let you work this case?" She said, trying to grab her arm to hold her back.

"Gates doesn't have jurisdiction in DC, I do." As if on cue Gate's entered the room, a cautious air about her.

"Beckett," she said with the most caring voice Kate had ever heard her use. "CSU has finished their sweep if you want to take a look." Kate gave a triumphant glare toward Lanie, not able to muster a smile, the idea only reminding her of Castle. She heard Gates say something to Lanie but she was already out the door and about ready to pull open the door to the stairwell when the phone in her pocket started buzzing. She hadn't even remembered grabbing her phone but she pulled it out and an unlisted number flashed across the screen. Everything inside of her froze at once and she immediately felt like she needed to vomit. She tried to breathe, it was terribly difficult, but she managed one breathe as she twisted on the spot to look back towards her room. Gates was standing in the doorway with some look she didn't recognize playing across her face. It wasn't until her eyes widened that she remembered the buzzing cell in her hand and she calmly pressed the answer button, pulling the phone to her ear. She cleared her throat.

"Beckett." She said, voice suddenly hoarse.

"Detective Beckett. How nice to hear your voice again. I would have expected you to sound a bit more happy on your wedding day though." Senator Bracken's voice vibrated through her head as she closed her eyes to fight back the tears suddenly threatening to escape, and she could not let that happen in this man's presence. "I'll take your silence as an understanding that we'll have to postpone your wedding, seeing as I think I have an important piece sitting right in front of me." Before Kate could choke out any threatening remark she heard Bracken's hushed voice say "you might want to tell your beloved fiancé that you're alive."

"Kate, Kate." Castle's voice was filled with panic but it flooded Kate's body with so much relief that her knees buckled beneath her and she landed on the ground hard, choking back her startled yelp of pain.

"Castle, Castle. Are you alright, where are you?" She knew her voice was full of panic but she didn't care.

"I'm alright, I'm-"

"Ah ah ah. Not so fast Mr. Castle." Bracken's voice filled Kate's ear again and every muscle in her body tensed with so much anger she couldn't breathe. She still couldn't find the right words to say to him so she let the silence speak for her. "If you want your beloved Mr. Castle to remain alive long enough to have a postponed wedding, you will bring me the man Castle knows as Hunt." The last thing Kate heard was Castle's voice yelling something loudly but the sound of something heavy hitting bone cut him off, and the line went dead.


	4. Chapter 4

Kate sat on the floor, body limp from so many emotions she couldn't tell which one was making the tears stream down her face and which one was making her dig her fingers into her knee. Her right arm was limp from having gripped the phone so tightly against her ear, the phone now skittered across the carpeted floor of the small hotel hallway. Gates gave her a moment, hovering in the doorway, Lanie standing behind her. Kate didn't want to look up at them. She knew all they would have for her was pity in their eyes and she couldn't take more of that. She had already felt enough pity for her in the last ten minutes. Her brain was fuzzy, so much noise and so much quiet happening at once she involuntarily reached up to fiddle with the ring that hung around her neck, not having remembered putting it back on after taking off her dress. She knew the movement so well after years of reaching for the memory of her mother, but now it had a much happier and loving memory behind it. Until today.

She had decided, almost without thinking, to wear her engagement ring on a chain around her neck when she started her job in DC. The decision sent emotions playing across Castle's face, who had to explain to her how big of a step it was, replacing her mother's ring with her own, even though she hadn't worn her mother's ring around her neck for over a year. Kate was just doing it to keep it safe. It wasn't until a month later as she set against the wall of an ally after staring down the barrel of a gun with her own gun tossed down the sewer and her backup too far away, that she reached for the memory of Castle around her neck. She missed his presence, his backup, his _help_.

She fiddled with the ring, bringing it up to her lips to give it a small kiss before tucking it back into her shirt and finally breaking the stare with the floor to look up at Gates. But she met Lanie's eyes first and instead of pity she saw concern. Lanie reached to help Kate up, and for a second Kate thought of brushing her off but then realized her knees were still too weak and she gripped Lanie's arm for support. Lanie led her to the couch where she collapsed; wanting so much to just lay her head down and let herself drift off into dreams where Castle was right beside her. Gates shut the door and turned the lock but Kate didn't see much point in that, Bracken wasn't coming after her, he already had what he wanted. The thought made Kate sit up, almost knocking the glass of water Lanie was trying to hand her to the floor. Her sudden reaction only garnered raised eyebrows from Gates and Lanie, and Kate realized Martha and Alexis were still sitting on the other couch across from her and she couldn't figure out if the looks they were giving her were of horror or surprise. Gates let her gulp down the glass of water before she finally spoke up.

"It's Bracken, isn't it?" All Kate could do was meet her eyes before Gates walked away to make a call. Lanie was still handing Kate glasses of water as she kept downing them like nothing in the universe could quench her thirst. When she finally felt like anymore water was going to make her truly vomit, the only noise that filled the air was the hushed tones of Gates speaking fervently into her cell phone. Kate knew that when she got off the phone she was going to ask her for the entire story and now she was wishing she had put the phone on speaker because she didn't want to relive it.

Kate didn't understand what was making her feel this way. She had been in situations like this before, even worse with Castle and herself on the edge of death. Why was she suddenly feeling this overwhelming feeling of panic and … she couldn't bring herself to acknowledge the other feeling might be hopelessness? Sitting there in the almost silence, the only reason she could come up with was that it was her wedding day. That this was very well the first time since her mother's murder that her happiness and her hope had been ripped out from underneath her. This time it was worse. She knew she could save Castle, there was still hope, but having the happiness of a day like her wedding day ripped from her and the full knowledge of the man she loved and could not live without in imminent danger, possibly lying unconscious on the ground in a place she couldn't reach, put something inside of her that made it really hard to move or even breathe at all.

She just wanted to curl up in a ball and let someone else do this job that she had come to hate over the last few months. At the sudden thought, her arms curled around her legs and resting her head against her knees she closed her eyes against the suddenly harsh lighting of the suddenly too fresh-smelling hotel room. That was it. The feeling in her chest swelled as she admitted this to herself. Something inside of her had changed over the last few weeks. She didn't know if it was the overwhelmingly boring amount of paperwork that kept her at her desk well past seven some nights, or the too many close encounters with death she had had in only three months, or the fact that she felt like she never saw Castle anymore except over the kitchen counter. This new job in DC might be perfect for her skill set, might be everything she was meant to be but the more sleepless nights that she had the more she realized she wasn't the same person she had been five years ago and didn't necessarily want all of the same things she had back then. And that's who Stack had seen, the Kate Beckett from five years ago who was all about being a detective and getting justice. Because Kate was hiding herself in her work again, hiding from her relationship with Castle and where she wanted it to go. Ever since she let Bracken go and saved his life, justice had an entirely different meaning. And she let her fears of her relationship with Castle get in the way of her decision to take this job that she didn't know that much about. Now she found herself in a hotel in DC, surrounded by everyone she had missed so much it hurt her almost every day, and the only thing that had been keeping her grounded was Castle and now he was being taken away from her. Everything was spinning so much she had to press her head into her knees to keep what little food she had in her stomach down. She heard Gate's clear her throat and didn't know how long she had been off the phone. It made her open her eyes but it took her another few moments to lift her head to look at her. She was sure her face was covered in tears, her makeup was probably mostly gone and now she probably had an impression of her jeans etched across her forehead. For probably the fifth time today, she found herself thinking about how much she didn't care.

"So what did Bracken say?" Gates asked, as if the last few minutes of pure silence hadn't just happened and she hadn't just gotten off the phone with god knows who. Kate decided it was easier to cut straight to the point. Clearing her throat and wishing that there was more water in the now empty pitcher on the coffee table, she gripped her legs tighter to steady her voice.

"Bracken has Castle. I don't know where. He is alive, for now, but he wants-" this thought cut Kate off. She hadn't even thought about the request that Bracken had made and it was suddenly hitting her that the more time she sat on this couch sulking in defeat the less time Castle had, and that she had absolutely no idea who this Hunt person was. She unfolded her legs slowly, stood up and ran her hands over her face before sitting back down, all under their worried glares. She cleared her throat, this time more forcefully, and set her mind on her goal. Her sudden change of attitude must have been visible because Gates gave a very approving nod and Lanie reached over to pat her on the shoulder. "I don't know what Bracken means by this, but he said 'bring the man that Castle knows as Hunt.'" This immediately elicited some form of gasp from Alexis as she turned to Martha with wide eyes.

"That's him gram. From Paris." She whispered it so quickly and so quietly but Martha's reaction was immediate.

"You know who Hunt is? Both of you?" Kate didn't understand what any of this had to do with Paris and suddenly every nerve in her body was on alert because of the sudden paleness of Martha's face.

"I didn- I didn't know his name was Hunt but, but Richard told me about him-" Martha cleared her throat a little but her voice was as strong as ever when she looked at Kate. "He's Richard's father."


	5. Chapter 5

Kate's mouth physically fell open as she tried to figure out what Martha had just told her. She didn't- Castle hadn't told her about this. "You mean… Castle knows who his father is?" She tried to keep as much confusion off her face as possible but she had to be doing a poor job at it. She didn't think the feeling inside of her head could get any worse but adding confusion and the knowledge that Castle had kept this from her, she couldn't help but feel a little hurt. Which felt completely ridiculous with Castle lying somewhere unconscious and held captive by a ruthless murderer who keeps managing to screw with her life. But still, something inside of her wondered why Castle hadn't told her about meeting his father, finding out who he was, and apparently it had something to do with what ever happened in Paris almost nine months ago.

"You mean… you mean he didn't tell you?" Alexis' eyes were wide and scared as they looked at Kate, who was trying to fight the urge to curl up into a ball again. A strangled sound of uncertainty escaped Alexis' mouth before she cleared her throat and set her jaw. Kate just looked at her, unable to speak and unable to sort through her own thoughts. "I was- I was kidnapped because of him. Because of Hunt, or that's what he called himself. There was a guy in Paris." She went silent.

Kate could tell this was really the first time she was talking about it, which she found odd. She had assumed that her and Castle had talked about it, he had even brought it up when Alexis went to Costa Rica at the beginning of the summer. Kate had heard Castle talking in his sleep, waking up in the middle of the night in a panic. She knew it was hard, being unable to go check on Alexis while she slept. For the first few weeks Kate would wake up to find Castle out of bed, either pacing the living room or in his study writing or just trying to stay awake. He hadn't wanted to talk about it so Kate didn't press it much, but she knew Castle would want to talk about it eventually. There was even a time when she thought a look he was giving her was telling her that he wanted so badly to tell her but he physically couldn't. She dropped it after that, and eventually he stopped pacing the living room and the dreams, at least to what Kate could see, eventually stopped as well. She assumed it was just from the thought of loosing Alexis, and coming so close. Kate had had some bad dreams herself about the entire situation but she never brought them up to Castle because she knew his were much worse. Kate blinked at Alexis, attempting to give her an encouraging smile to tell her to continue with her story. Alexis just cleared her throat again and started fidgeting with her fingers as she spoke.

"The guy had some personal vendetta against this guy Hunt. Something about killing his family. He wanted revenge, so when he found out that dad was his son, he kidnapped me to get to both of us so he could settle the score." None of this was making any sense to Kate, it all sounded like it was coming out of one of Castle's books. But she encouraged Alexis to go on, and wanted so badly to reach across the table and grab her hand to reassure her. Whether she would have been reassuring Alexis or herself, she didn't know. "Dad said he was some, agent. I assume he meant CIA, though he never actually told me that. He made me swear not to tell anyone. It's probably a bad idea that all of you are going to know now." She waved her hand at the room. Once again Kate had forgotten that Lanie sat right next to her, and Gates stood with the same look on her face that she had when listening to one of Castle's theories, which just made Kate's stomach turn. "Dad said he met him. He was the one who formulated the whole plan to get me out. Which meant sending dad in." At this, Kate's eyes grew larger and Alexis must have noticed. "Kate, did he really not tell you any of this?" She asked with such sincerity in her voice that Kate couldn't brush the question aside.

"No." She choked out, the one syllable sounding a little too harsh in the silent air. "I mean. I could tell he didn't want to talk about it so I didn't press him. He… it took him a long time to get over what happened. I'm sure he still isn't." This idea sent shivers down Kate's spine as she remembered Castle yelling out when Bracken had said Hunt's name. As if Bracken uttering the words to Kate would bring her into a story that Castle didn't want her to know. But Kate knew that if it was for any reason, it was to keep her safe. "You said he's some agent. Are you sure? Castle didn't tell you anything more about that?" Alexis just shook her head.

"From what dad told me of the plan that he came up with to get me out, he seemed to know what he was talking about. He used some watch that when he attached it to the…" she paused to take a breath. Kate could see the memories in her eyes and she wished with every fiber inside of her that Alexis didn't have to relive those memories, but it was the only thing that seemed to be pointing them in the right direction. "…cage. When he attached it to the bar of the cage it exploded and knocked the door open, and we ran. We ran all the way to the embassy." Alexis' eyes burned with tears that she was trying to hold back as she looked at Kate. "If this has something to do with him, Kate. This isn't good." Kate just nodded.

"I know." She looked down at her fingers, which had absentmindedly pulled her engagement ring out, and she sat fiddling with it.

"Richard told me that he didn't know if he survived." Martha's voice brought Kate's eyes back up to meet hers. Her voice felt consoling, as if she knew Kate was struggling to put all the pieces together. "That he would never actually know. But when they returned from Paris, he received a book in the mail, Casino Royale. He told me that was probably a sign that he had made it." At the still puzzled look on her face, Alexis met Kate's eyes.

"Casino Royale was the book that made dad want to be a writer." Kate nodded along with Alexis' words, she knew that. It was the only thing in this entire conversation that she felt familiar with. "Dad had told me the story once that he was in the library and a man handed him the book and suggested that he read it." Martha spoke up this time.

"It was him. His father, who gave him that book." Kate let out a breathe, not realizing she had been holding it for quite a while. So he had had a presence in his life. Almost… stalking Castle, which sent a feeling down Kate's spine that she didn't like at all. If… if Hunt, or whatever this man's name was, had been following Castle when he was a child then he was probably following him his entire life. That woman. That woman in the CIA wasn't lying when she told Castle his father was the reason he got to shadow her for his book. He had been following him. Keeping up with where he was, probably reading his books. What's to say he hadn't been following him recently? Since he had met Kate. Since he had been put in harm's way too many times to count on one hand. What if. And it all suddenly clicked in Kate's head. What if he knew something about her mother's murder. Something about Bracken. He couldn't be a part of it, could he? No. She refused to believe that. She already had the man who was responsible. No. Most of it still didn't make sense but she had managed to gather her thoughts enough to figure out what their next move should be.

"How do we find him? How are we going to find him?" She asked the last question to the whole room, eyes landing on Gates who just let out a puff of air and tried to not let the familiar look play across her face, the one that said she had a hard time believing in anything that was being said, the look that was usually saved for Castle.

"If this is true. If this is what we're up against, if this is who Bracken wants, we're going to need a lot more information. Information I'm worried we may not be able to find, ever." Her words confirmed what Kate was thinking. She had had her experience with the CIA. It was all about secrets and not letting anybody know them. If she hadn't lost hope before, it was quickly draining, along with the color from her face.

She tried to swallow her feelings but they seemed to have gotten stuck in her throat and she had to force herself to stand, legs trembling, to walk to the bathroom to get a glass of water. She looked at herself in the mirror. Makeup from this morning all but gone, what little was left was smeared across her face, her eyes were so red and puffy it was amazing she could still see clearly out of them. Splashing water on her face managed to wake her up a bit but didn't help much with her appearance. After gulping down what seemed like a gallon of water from the facet, she managed to suppress the feelings threatening to escape her body and walk back to the group, but didn't let herself sit back down. Taking a stance next to Gates, she didn't know what to say. Their silence was not reassuring to Martha and Alexis, she could tell. They were both looking at them expectantly but neither of them had any answers.

"I contacted DC detectives and CSU. They agreed to let Ryan and Esposito help work the case to keep us in the loop but they have strict parameters and don't want you near it. I told them that would be hard, so they had agreed to let you see the crime scene but told me they would have to contact the attorney general for further steps. They told me they would send someone down with further information." As if on cue there was a knock at the door. Gates didn't move but kept talking. "That's probably them now. But Beckett, if this goes as far as the CIA, there may be no one we know who has jurisdiction on this. I'm not encouraging you to break the law or get yourself fired but you and Castle have a hell of a track record with cases like this. If anyone can solve this, if anyone can save Castle…" She gripped Kate's arm, Kate didn't recognize anything that was in her eyes but it felt reassuring, "It's you." Kate nodded. Gate's words fueling a fire within her that she had missed these last few months, one that got her brain buzzing with plans, ideas and directions to head in. She kept hitting a road block when it came to Hunt but if that wasn't going to work they would have to start figuring out where Bracken was keeping Castle. Gates moved towards the door, unlocking it slowly and pulling open the door. Kate could barely see the man standing on the other side but his voice was dominating and echoed into the room.

"I believe you are looking for me. I'm the one you call Hunt."


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: You guys are all so awesome and kind, I'm so glad you like where this is going so far. This chapter goes in a slightly different direction, but I hope you like it :)**

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September twenty first, two thousand and thirteen. That was the date scrawled across the middle of the announcement in the newspaper. Of all things, newspapers were definitely not the preferred medium of print these days but the announcement was still there, and he still read the newspaper every chance he got – the internet just wasn't the same. The picture of the happy couple, sitting on a set of steps at one of the dozen Washington DC monuments, was neatly settled at the top of the article. Even though the black and white print diminished the quality, he could still make out the handsome features of Richard Castle and the absolutely stunning Katherine Beckett. Their smiles were absolutely genuine as they ignored the camera with fantastic grins spread across their faces. He could tell they were happy. And as he sipped his morning coffee, delicious coffee that could only be found in this quaint little shop in Brazil that he sat in, he couldn't help but stare at the picture and soak in the happiness that poured from the grainy black and white picture. Running his thumb absentmindedly over the date it only crossed his mind for a second. How amazing it would be to see his son on the happiest day of his life. Even though he knew that he had been married two times before, something about this time was different and he knew it. He heaved a deep sigh as he laid some money down on the table before folding the newspaper up and walking away from this small coffee shop on the corner of this quiet street in Brazil. He enjoyed the quiet, liked the quiet. He hadn't been to the states in years. Could barely even remember what parts of the country he was even allowed in. He was fairly certain Washington DC was off limits. But it only crossed his mind for a second.

He was sitting in his little apartment up the street from the coffee shop where he spent most of his mornings. He'd been in this apartment for far too long, itching to leave but also to stay. He wasn't used to being in the same place for so long, even though it had only been two weeks. But he didn't have a mission, didn't have anywhere else to go. And he liked the quiet. His maps were pinned to the wall, various news clippings that he wanted to remember, and next to them he pinned the grainy black and white newspaper photo of Richard and Katherine. Their happiness was too intoxicating to not look at it. It had to feel amazing to be in their presence, he thought, but it only crossed his mind for a second.

The email he received a few days later was unsettling in new ways. He was being _relieved_. He didn't understand what it meant, and after several phone calls he was informed that his mission was to not bring attention to himself, but that he didn't have a mission. He'd spent his entire life going from mission to mission, tracking down bad guys and saving lives. What he did was not pretty but he managed. The few days here and there when he got to soak up different countries and cities had been enough for him. But the idea of having _nothing_. He knew he'd never be inactive. The moment he would start to get used to civilian life he would just be called back in and so there really was no point of being _relieved._ The word brought a bad taste to his mouth but he didn't have a choice. He couldn't ask for a mission. If they didn't have one, if they didn't want to give him one, then he would have to attempt to enjoy the quiet a little longer. He liked the quiet. But he could only handle so much of it. Sitting in front of the open window, scratching at his beard, for the first time in what seemed like forever he was no longer waiting. But now he had to choose the direction to go in. His eyes darted to the photo on the wall. But again, it only crossed his mind for a second.

The plane ticket felt sharp in his hands, threatening to turn on him at any second. When he handed it over to the lady at the counter along with his passport, she smiled at him and let him pass. It was a strange feeling, walking onto a commercial flight with only one, non-threatening destination ahead of him. He was so used to private flights, helicopters, heck even submarines. He laughed just thinking about how many of his experiences sounded like they were coming out of a novel. One of Richard's novels to be more precise. He couldn't even remember how many times he read something in one of his books that he had actually experienced himself. Richard's books made him laugh more than any mystery book could. It's like the adventure was in his blood. He sat down in his seat, first class, because squeezing himself next to people in a small space would be the opposite of not drawing attention to himself. He looked out the window, scratching at his beard again and wondering exactly why he had just bought a ticket and boarded a plane to Washington DC. And wondering whether he would even make it out of the airport when he got there. He really didn't want to think about that for the next ten hours, so he settled into his seat and pulled out a book from his small carryon bag. The pink cover of Deadly Heat shined in the dim lighting of the cabin, and he slipped off the dust jacket and put it back in his bag. He cracked open the cover, the book barely off the shelf seeing as he bought it in the airport book store. It had only been a few weeks but he hadn't had time to find a bookstore in the part of Brazil that he was in that would carry it. Sliding his hand over the dedication he smiled, and turned the page to begin.

Almost ten hours later the plane touched down in DC. He felt exhausted, his eyes straining from almost finishing the entire book in one sitting, and was able to finish it completely while he waited in line for his bags. Everything went smoothly which, when he thought about it more, didn't really surprise him. He was using one of his many false identities and there certainly wasn't anyone in the city that could recognize him. Yet he found himself jumping in the back of a cab and heading towards the one person who would be able to recognize him, and he knew that if he did there was no way he could run off and vanish this time. He was still convincing himself that he was only in DC to try and make someone send him off to another country but his fingers still itched to pull out his laptop and find out where the wedding was being held. He had the cab drop him off at the first coffee shop he spotted, and piling the two bags he had outside by a table, he whipped out his laptop. It took one quick search to figure out what hotel the illustrious author Richard Castle was holding his wedding, and it made him wish that they had been a little more secretive. After finishing a cup of coffee that didn't meet any of the standards he had been used to in South America, he caught another cab, rambling off a rich sounding hotel name which was met with raised eyebrows by the cabbie but he didn't ask any questions. He knew his appearance could look better. He hadn't shaved in days and had been sitting on a plane for ten hours. He didn't know what hotel he was going to but he was sure that he didn't look like most of the guests who stayed there.

It was one week before the wedding as he checked into the hotel but he still threw on his sunglasses and ball cap just in case. At least the people at the front desk didn't look at him like the cabbie had and they were more than accommodating with his specific floor and no cleaning service request. His room was on the sixth floor and at the end of a dead end hallway which was nice since he wouldn't be leaving it much. He had really gotten good at unpacking his things and setting his equipment up over the years, though this time he found himself only needing to set his laptop on the desk, not even needing to turn it on. He didn't know if this was what retirement felt like but he certainly didn't want to find out anytime soon. He spent the rest of the evening looking out his window at a park across the street and eventually found himself surfing the internet before deciding to clean himself up a bit. Figuring that no one attending the wedding would be arriving for at least a few days he decided to ask the woman at the front desk where a good place to eat was, and treated himself to dinner at a restaurant down the street. Everything was going smoothly, tucked away at a small table in the back corner eating things he hadn't had in years, until a flash of red hair caught his eye through the window. He looked up to see his granddaughter walking through the door to the restaurant followed by a woman with equally red hair. He was startled to see Martha after imagining for so many years what it would be like to be in the same room with her again, and he half expected Richard to be following behind them but the two were alone and sat in a booth on the other side of the restaurant. He finished quickly, deciding to skip dessert, and neither of them caught his eye as he left. Which was good. He was trying to keep a low profile, which was his only job, his only mission. He berated himself all the way back to the hotel for letting them get so close. For letting his guard down for only a moment. The other side of him was arguing that it was completely harmless, neither of them knew who he was, and even if Martha recognized him she would just think it was her imagination. Even though it wasn't as big of a deal as the professional side of him wanted to believe, he tucked himself away in his hotel room for the next few days. Ordering room service and keeping himself busy by easily bypassing the hotels security camera system and watching as caterers and florists started to deliver things for the wedding ceremony.

His plan was set and solid, all the way down to the clothes he was going to wear. Casual, as if he was just another tourist on his way to walk around DC. He'd nicked a copy of the wedding program from a box outside the ballroom to find out the ceremony was going to start at three. He assumed Richard would be heading down a little earlier than that and planned to have a long cup of coffee at the small bar off the side of the lobby, hoping he might be able to catch a glimpse of Richard before he went in. If he was lucky he might get to see him with Katherine as they made their way to the adjacent ballroom for the reception. When he entered the lobby, guests were filing in to take their seats and he had to fight the urge to sneak past the men taking names at the door. Sitting himself at the counter of the bar and ordering a coffee, the bartender tried to make small talk with him about weddings and how extravagant some people could be. All he could do was muster a smile in his direction as he watched the never ending flow of guests filter through the lobby.

He kept checking his watch. Three o'clock, maybe he wasn't going to be early after all. Or maybe Richard took a back door into the ballroom instead of making his way through the lobby, which seemed highly likely. Three ten, but it was usually custom for things to run late. Three fifteen, Katherine must be having some nerves which he could imagine. He knew that she had to make her way through the lobby because the main entrance to the ballroom was just down the hall. Three twenty, he was now starting to get on the bartenders nerves after refusing a refill for his coffee for the third time. Three thirty, something was wrong. Three thirty four, a man he thought he recognized walked quickly and swiftly through the lobby with all the signs of him being a cop. From a distance he saw him bypass the ballroom and start talking to some maintenance men at the end of the hall. Distracted by the noise of numerous pairs of feet making their way through the lobby, he turned in his chair to see a seemingly outrageous amount of cops heading for the stairwell. They were being very quiet and he couldn't hear what one of them said to the woman at the front desk. He stood from his chair and made his way to the hall, awkwardly standing there as the man he'd seen earlier brushed passed him and the doors to the ballroom opened. The room was dark, as if the lights had been shut off, and he managed to move out of the way in time for the crowd of wedding guests to make their way back into the lobby. Now it was loud. Voices carrying everywhere and he couldn't decide which conversations to latch onto. "Power outage," "Faulty wiring," "Nerves," "Running," "Cops." He heard so many different things he could barely get a handle on what was going on before he was moving with the crowd towards the elevators. He decided it was better to go back to his room before someone started asking him questions and he got on the elevator with a few older women.

"I think something bigger is going on than power troubles. There were police everywhere when I came out into the lobby. And I know Kate's a cop, but there aren't power problems anywhere else in the hotel." "Faulty wiring my ass. One of them ran, I'm tellin ya." "If he got cold feet, she doesn't deserve him." He ignored the last statements but something about the first one was a little too odd for his taste. When he got off on his floor alone he couldn't help but make his feet move towards the stairwell. He'd learned a few things spending all his time held up in his room with nothing else to do but watch security cameras. Richard's room was two floors above his and Kate's in between. Nothing seemed strange when he came out on the eighth floor until he rounded the corner and saw cops, detectives and CSU crowding the end of a hallway. He kept walking, making his way to the elevators, and he was just going to go back down to his floor until someone got off on the seventh and he made his feet follow them out. He wandered around, trying to look as discrete as possible; he'd gotten pretty good at it over the years.

He knew what room Kate was staying in and quietly made his way to her door. Leaning against the door frame he pressed his ear as close as he could get, hearing muffled voices coming from the other side. He was sure that if he stood there too long someone would come along and think it was suspicious, but he was frozen to the door once he heard them start talking about Richard and Senator Bracken. Then Alexis was talking about Paris and then they were talking about him. They needed to find him, Hunt, the alias they knew him by. He didn't understand what was going on, barely had any information to go by, but without taking a moment to think about what would happen, he knocked on the door.


	7. Chapter 7

Kate took a step back as Gates quickly turned around to look at her. Kate just shook her head with wide eyes not knowing what to say. Kate looked at Alexis and Martha who looked as shocked as she felt.

"And how am I supposed to know that?" Gates didn't move from the doorway, her skepticism leaching out with every word. The man pulled out his wallet and, shuffling through several plastic cards, held up an ID for Gates to see as he reached back to scratch the back of his head with his other hand.

"Hunt's just an Alias. I'm an intelligence asset, so, I have a lot of them." he trailed off as his eyes jumped to Kate. She still didn't really know what to say as she took a step forward towards the door.

"How did you- why are you here?" She asked, secretly hoping he might be able to shed some light on where Castle was.

"Can I come in?" He looked between Kate and Gates as Gates handed his ID back to him. She opened the door more and he walked into the room, eyes darting to Alexis and Martha on the couch before coming to a stop in front of Kate. "I… was in town, and I saw your wedding announcement in the newspaper saying that it would be today." Kate blinked. She hadn't remembered telling Castle to put their announcement in the paper. "I was checking in. Wanted to see Richard on his wedding day. I was downstairs when the wedding guests were let out of the ballroom. I was on my way back to my room when I decided to see what was going on. Richard's room was surrounded by cops. I came here, heard you talking about me through the door. Sounds like you were going to need to find me." Kate just stood there, stunned. He had basically just admitted to them that he was stalking them without even blinking an eye. "This has something to do with Bracken doesn't it?" The sudden mention of his name made Kate tense.

"How do you know that?" Kate asked through clenched teeth, no longer trying to hide her anger with this man.

"I heard you mention the name. But, I've picked up that you aren't fans of each other. I – I know a lot about you and Richard, don't be too alarmed by that." He sounded like he was trying to be nice.

"Alarmed by it!? You are stalking Castle. And me!" Kate's voice was rising, finally erasing the scared worried side of herself away to let the pissed off side tear through.

"Checking in. I've been checking in on Richard, Alexis and Martha their whole lives. What I do means no communication with anyone. No relationships. I haven't even been to the states in years. But there's chatter. There's always chatter. I'd heard about your shooting. I'd done what little research I could on you. Learned about your mother's case. Eventually I came across the name Bracken. I tried to make a few calls, use my connections, but I got shut down pretty quickly. My connections are pretty thin when it comes to domestic affairs, it's the nature of the job. But I learned things about Bracken, things that only few probably know. He has a force around him that is almost impenetrable." Hunt hadn't broke eye contact with Kate the whole time he spoke, but her eyes looked away when he brought up her shooting. Everything that Kate had been thinking had just been confirmed. He knew too much.

"Bracken wants you. He said if Castle is going to survive I have to bring you to him. I'm sure he learned of you and thinks you know too much. He's probably planning on killing you, probably hoping to drag me and Castle along with you." Kate's voice was strong. She was using her anger towards this man to her advantage, though she didn't really know where it was coming from. She knew he could tell that she was angry with him, the way he stood a few feet back from her as if she were going to explode.

"Beckett," Her name sounded commanding and strong on Hunt's tongue as he spoke. "I can help. If anyone can help you go up against Bracken, it should be me. I've known for far too long what this man has done, and what he is capable of. But the force he has around him even extends to the majority of my connections. I've seen what he's done, himself and through others. All he wants is power and he doesn't care who gets in the way." He was looking at her, only her. In some odd way pleading with her to let him help, but she didn't have much choice.

"If anyone wants to take down Bracken, it's _me._" If Kate wanted anything in this world, it was to make him pay, to give justice to the countless victims he had made over his lifetime, and to finally find justice for her mother. But if she had to choose between justice and Castle, she would choose Castle. If that meant letting Bracken go, or if that meant killing Bracken to save Castle, she was prepared to do anything, and she knew _anything, _to save Castle. Kate took a step towards Hunt, daring him to contradict her. He stood his ground, sizing her up.

"There's the Katherine Beckett I've read so much about." At this statement she clenched her jaw even tighter. It set her nerves on fire the way he talked about her, the way he talked about Castle as if he knew them. But he didn't seem to notice as he turned around and headed for the door. "I'll need my things, I'm one floor down, I'll be back in a minute." And with that he vanished through the door, and it was like he'd never entered in the first place. Kate turned on her heels to look at Gates who just stood there with her arms crossed. Martha and Alexis were silent, frozen to the couch. Kate just nodded.

"He's our best hope." Kate said out loud, she saw Gates nod along with this. "We will get Castle back." She looked at Martha and Alexis as she said this, but she knew she was saying it out loud just to confirm to herself that the plan she was currently forming inside her head was actually going to work.


	8. Chapter 8

"I have a feeling he's in New York." Kate leaned her hands against the table setup in the corner of the hotel room.

"A feeling?" Hunt responded with a sideways glance as he too leaned against the table staring down at his fingers.

"Ya, a feeling. Is that a problem?" Kate looked back at him, daring him to cross her.

"No, not a problem. I get those too. But you don't know for sure. What makes you think he kidnapped Richard in DC and took him all the way to New York?"

Kate sighed. She had thought this through, as much as it sounded like she hadn't. "Bracken knows New York. Bracken, along with a few of his men, are with Castle in some room. I heard background noise, so probably a big city. In DC, Bracken has to be professional. Even though he probably wouldn't be caught, he couldn't risk it happening in DC. In New York he can run. He's done it forever." Kate looked at Hunt, who was just nodding along with her as she spoke. They were both hunched over the table, Gates had left to find Ryan and Esposito and Martha and Alexis were speaking quietly on the couch. Hunt had spread out a map of DC and a map of New York on the table, Kate not really following why he had done this but she went along with it. It seemed to help him think, having a map in front of him. They were trying to form a plan before attempting to call Bracken back through the number he used to call Kate's cell, because Kate's initial attempt at tracking the number had failed miserably. If they could get a rough idea of where he might be, they could send men ahead and have back up ready. "Plus, I'm sure he's using Castle to lure the both of us to him. I don't actually have anything against him." Kate looked at Hunt who, to her surprise, didn't react to this news. "If Bracken finds that out, there's nothing holding him back from coming after me. Now that he knows Castle and I are together, Castle became the perfect bait. Bracken has to go down this time, I don't see any other way out of it." Hunt nodded.

"It's the perfect opportunity. This is the chink in his impenetrable force. Every other time he's gone after you guys, he's sent someone else. This time, he's doing it himself. Why is that?" Kate didn't know. It hadn't really crossed her mind. "If he wanted you outright dead, he would just send someone to do it. He wants to talk. Make a statement."

"He wanted you. He probably assumed that Castle had told me about you. That maybe we had connections, or that my new job could help us find you." Kate blinked. It was strange, with her new connections in DC, it probably wouldn't have been as hard to find Hunt as she thought. Someone had to have heard of him, or of whatever agency he worked for. "Could…" She cut herself off. She didn't really want to think about what had just come to her mind, but Hunt didn't let it go.

"Could what?" He asked, finally taking a seat in the chair at the table to pull up his laptop. Kate sat down next to him, lost in thought.

"Could Bracken be behind this job offer? Could he have somehow suggested I be considered for this job that would put me in connection with people who would be able to find you?" She looked at him. For the first time since meeting him, anger wasn't pouring out of her, she actually wanted to know what he was thinking.

"From what I've heard, you're a pretty amazing detective. You've taken down a lot of people. Even if Bracken had a presence behind it, they wouldn't just give the job to anyone." His voice was reassuring as he typed away at his computer, pulling up screens, maps and contacts. Kate looked away from him and stared down at the map of New York spread out on the table. She ran her hands across the city she knew so well. The city she'd grown up in, lived most of her life. The place where so many things, good and bad, had happened. She missed it. Letting out a sigh she turned back to him.

"I guess it doesn't really matter." She whispered, as he kept typing away, sending out emails and pulling up databases. She didn't even bother asking why he was doing all of that.

"Well it matters if it bothers you." He broke eye contact with his screen to look at her, and she just looked at him with a face full of concern.

"Bracken has messed up my life so many times, I wouldn't put it past him to essentially kick me out of the city I love. With me gone…" A spark suddenly ignited inside of her, filling with sudden realization, she grabbed Hunt's computer and slid it in front of her. He let her take it. She pulled up New York database websites that she still remembered the passwords to. "With me gone, he wouldn't have anyone looking over his shoulder. He could continue to do whatever it was he was doing before I started investigating him. Even with Ryan and Esposito still in New York, they don't know him as well as I do. Castle and I could always figure out what cases were connected with my moms. With me gone…" She spun the laptop so he could see it better. "Unclosed murder cases have slowly risen over the last few months, mostly shootings and stabbings. Most attributed to random gang violence, but none of them are gang members." Hunt just looked at the screen, eyes scanning the words quickly.

"I'm sure we won't' be able to connect any of them to Bracken." He said.

"I'm sure we won't, but I bet you anything he's behind them. He's trying to wipe away his past. He did all of the things he did to rise to power. And unintentionally left little strings behind. He has to tie up those loose strings now, and with the power he has, he probably sees it as an easy thing to do. Until I came along to complicate things."

"He needed that. Complicated. It stopped him, for a while." Hunt was trying to be reassuring again, Kate noticed it was working.

"Ya, and the whole time he was probably just waiting for the right moment to cut out on our deal and come after me. To come after Castle." She looked down at her fingers again, still not knowing what to do for their next step. Hunt went back to typing on his computer. "What are you doing, anyway?" Kate finally asked.

"Trying out my connections." That's all he said. They sat there in silence for a while, Kate glancing over to find Alexis sprawled out on one couch and Martha laying down on the other. Kate stood up from her chair and walked over to them.

"Are you guys okay? I know this is a lot." Alexis looked up from the couch, Martha sitting up and motioning for Kate to sit down. She took the seat even though all she wanted to do was pace the room in hopes it would get her brain working.

"Katherine, honey, we're fine. There's not much we can do but stay out of the way." Her eyes settled on Hunt for a moment before coming back to Kate. Kate knew Martha had to be struggling with the fact that Hunt hadn't said a word to her the entire time he'd been her, but they had been a little busy. "But what about you? It's only been a few hours, and a lot has happened. And what about your father, where is he? You haven't seen him all day." At the mention of her father Kate realized she hadn't thought of him in the last few hours.

"He's probably in the lobby. We, we were supposed to meet down there." She felt disappointed in herself for not even thinking about her father, who was probably downstairs worried sick, and it made her wonder why he hadn't come up to her room yet. They probably weren't letting anyone without a room key up in the elevators, and even though Kate and Castle had both insisted on paying for a room for him in the hotel, he wouldn't let them and got himself a room at a cheaper hotel down the road. Kate knew he hadn't been happy about the sudden proposal, especially after just having a conversation with him about not knowing where her relationship with Castle was going. Even so, she still felt bad that she hadn't seen him.

"How about Alexis and I go downstairs and try and find him. Maybe he's still down there and we can explain everything that's going on. We could use the walk, anyway." Martha stood quickly, Kate could tell all she wanted to do was get out of this room. She patted Kate on the shoulder before Kate could protest. They made their way out the door and Kate swiveled around to lie down on the couch, letting out a sigh.

"I'm trying to find some flight information. A private jet took off from the DC airport around one o'clock this afternoon. Looks like there were only two passengers. It was headed in the direction of New York but no destination information was filed, which is typical." Hunt kept typing as he spoke this. It reassured Kate a little, knowing that they were probably in New York. She was racking her brains to figure out where they could be, but there were just too many abandoned warehouses and Bracken probably had access to all of them.

"Why did you send him in by himself? In Paris." Kate's question cut through the silence, but she couldn't hold it back any longer. Ever since Alexis had told her, just with the passing comment, that Hunt had sent Castle in to get Alexis by himself, she had felt angry at this man before she had even met him. She heard the typing stop, and sitting up on the couch she looked over at him.

"Is that why you're so angry with me? You think I sent him in alone?" His question caught her off guard but she just nodded her head. "There was no other way." His short answer built the anger back up inside her and before he could elaborate she spoke up.

"There is always another way." Her voice was rough and for the first time since setting eyes on this man's face, she saw his eyes go soft for a moment.

"Not this time." He was quiet, as if trying to think back on the memory. Maybe it haunted him just as much as it haunted Alexis and Castle, and even Kate. "I sent him in armed. And with a set plan. It was the only way he would be able to get to Alexis. And I got them out, didn't I?" He went back to typing on his computer, as if having this conversation was just a small thing he could brush aside. But Kate didn't have anything else to say so she dropped the subject.

There was a knock on the door, and jumping from the couch, Kate closed the distance in two strides. Looking through the peep hole, she opened the door with a sigh and a small grin.

"Did you guys find anything?" She asked Ryan and Esposito as they entered the room. "Where's Gates?" She closed the door behind them, her heart a little too hopeful that they had some good news.

"Everyone's done upstairs. Gates wanted to stick around and fish out anymore information she could. They didn't really find anything. No forced entry. No fingerprints except for Castle's, and no one can figure out how the guy managed to get Castle down eight stories, but someone did see two men get into a black car around the time of the kidnapping. No plates though, and traffic cams were a bust." Ryan ran through all of these things off a list in his notebook. He'd covered all the bases. At any other time Kate might be a little proud in just how thorough he had been.

"Gates said you got a call, and that it's Bracken." Espo spoke up while he stared over at Hunt.

"Ya. Guys this is Hunt, um…" Kate faltered for a moment, realizing she didn't even know this guy by a first name. Not that it mattered because it was just an alias. "He's Castle's father." At this news both the boys raised their eyebrows and had the same silent shock that Kate had been having a lot over the last few hours. Before Kate could explain any further Hunt cleared his throat.

"I got a hit on a cell phone." Before Hunt could continue Espo cut him off.

"Didn't Bracken call from a burner cell? You can't track those." Ryan and Esposito both stood back from them as Kate took a step closer to Hunt.

"It _was_ a burner cell. That's why it took so long. Traced the number, which obviously didn't lead anywhere, but with a few searches I found the company, dug out the number and the call which pinged off a tour in New York." Hunt didn't look away from the computer as he spoke, but had already pulled up another window and was doing something else now. Kate turned to look at Esposito who had the same look that she was used to seeing him give Castle on his face, which sent a pain through Kate's gut but she brushed it off.

"Who is this guy?" Espo asked, but Ryan seemed to already be taking a liking to him as he looked over his shoulder at his laptop.

"I'm an intelligence asset. Was an intelligence asset, I guess." It was the first time Hunt had spoken it out loud and he still didn't understand the meaning behind it.

"Was!?" Kate and Espo spoke at the same time, Kate rounding on Hunt.

"I was _relieved_." Hunt said, still staring at the computer. Ryan had backed away a bit but still tried to follow what he was doing on the screen.

"What do you mean _relieved_? When?" Kate didn't understand what he meant by this, but if he wasn't working for whoever it was he worked for anymore, no wonder he was having so many issues with these supposed contacts.

"Last week. I was told I was being relieved. Which I'm basically taking as a vacation. There is no leaving what I do, detective Beckett. I took the opportunity to come visit DC. It doesn't mean anything. It just means I'm not on a mission, which in this case is a very good thing." He waved his hand at the computer, at the room, at the whole situation they had found themselves in. Kate heaved a sigh. She didn't know why this man got to her so much, she should like him considering he was Castle's father, but something about him bothered her. He pushed the computer towards her. A map was pulled up, a blinking dot in the middle of the screen.

"Wow. You've completely tracked a burner cell." Ryan had complete awe in his voice as he looked over their shoulders at the blinking light. Espo gave him a look but Ryan didn't pay attention to it.

"I've managed to get the general location. But now we need a plan." Hunt looked at Kate. All she wanted to do was call in as many officers a she could get and storm the place. But she knew they couldn't do that. If they wanted Castle alive, if she wanted to stay alive and bring down Bracken in the process, they really needed to think through everything they were going to do.

"What plan? We just have to go save Castle." They all looked at Esposito as he said this. Kate just shook her head.

"We have to bring Bracken down, Javi. It's the only way. There is no way that I will be able to walk in there and walk out alive. We're pretty sure he wants Hunt because he knows too much. If he is going to get rid of him, he'll be getting rid of me and Castle too. The only reason Castle is still alive is because he's bait for us." Kate said all of this so smoothly it took her by surprise. She was ready for this. She knew what steps they had to take, what precautions. Now it was just figuring out how to execute it, and hoping that it all goes smoothly.

Ryan stood back from the group, looking at the three of them. "Where do we start?"


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Thank you all again for the amazing kindness and reviews, you guys are just so awesome!**

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The ground was cold. Hard cement pressed against his cheek. Trying to open his eyes, he found that he could only open one and all he saw was darkness. He was pretty sure his bottom lip was covered in blood, and his tongue felt swollen like he'd bit it. His ears were ringing from the silence that engulfed him; he couldn't make out any noise until he thought he heard a car horn in the distance. He tried to move and that was when he realized one of his legs was in the air, and as he tried to roll over he noticed he was tied to something heavy. Adjusting himself a little, and wincing from the pain that even the smallest movements brought, he managed to figure out he was tied to a chair. Except now he and the chair were sideways on the floor and there was no way he could get up. He tried to kick his feet but screamed out as a sharp pain shot through his right ankle. It was hard for him to breathe, pain shooting across his chest each time, as if he'd been hit several times, or maybe fell. His arms were behind his back so he couldn't reach up and feel if there was a bump on his head where a sharp pain was coming from. He lay there, frozen in fear that any movement would just bring more pain. He didn't know where he was, or how he'd gotten there, or why he was in so much pain. He couldn't remember anything, not even waking up this morning. The cold cement was seeping through his thin layers of clothes and that was when he realized he was wearing some sort of a suit. He tried to look down but it was so dark he couldn't even see his hand inches from his face, which was of course if he could actually move his hand from behind his back. He couldn't remember why he was wearing what felt like a tuxedo and this made him worry even more than the pain all over his body. He'd lost his memory, he couldn't remember, maybe it was the bump on his head that he was sure that he had. He laid there on the floor, his right shoulder aching but he could barely move an inch without a part of him screaming out in pain.

It felt like hours had passed but it could have been minutes. He kept going in and out of consciousness as the pain in his head grew to be too much, though he couldn't figure out if it was from the pain or if he was just exhausted from whatever he had been through. He had no idea what time it was. He'd tried to keep his eye open for as long as possible but the darkness never changed. Eventually he had made out the sound of traffic, which made him think he was in New York but he didn't know why he would be anywhere else. The thought of New York made him think of Kate, but he couldn't remember when the last time it was that he'd seen her. Her face was coming to him but it was very hazy, like he couldn't quite remember what she looked like, like it had been too long. His head hurt just trying to recall the memory of her and when he finally could see her face in the darkness, the way her smile lit up her eyes and the hair fell down around her face in the morning, the pain in his head was too much and he blacked out.

Kate was standing over him, eyes looking down at him with some emotion he couldn't quite recognize before everything changed and he was lying in bed next to her. He could feel her body wrapped around his arm, his arm asleep from how long they had been laying like that. Then she was kissing him and he thought she said the word 'us' before everything changed again and she was standing across the room from him. He was being pulled away from her, she wasn't moving and tears were streaming down her face. He was being pulled away and he couldn't move, couldn't fight back. He thought he saw her mouth 'I love you' before he was dragged out the door and a bomb went off, leveling the entire building in front of him.

He jolted awake, bringing fresh pain to his legs as he tried to move quickly away from the sudden nightmare. Sweat dripped down his face, stinging his eyes and the apparent cut on his bottom lip. The bomb, the bomber. Was he here because of that? That explosion felt incredibly real, did Kate go down in it? Where was Kate? He started to panic before his memories reached out to shake it away. No. Kate had said 'I love you.' That was real. And the kiss. And Gates. Gates knew about them. Memories flooded his mind. Dinner, kissing, a ring. The ring. He remembered the ring. It sat in his desk drawer, hidden under piles of his manuscripts. He remembered, only a few days after Kate stood on the bomb, he went out and bought the perfect ring. He was going to propose, soon. He was just waiting for the perfect time. Vaughn. At the sudden memory of Eric Vaughn he clenched his jaw until the pain in his head forced him to relax a little. He'd kissed Kate, or tried to. He never really found that out. Then he had the nerve to try and tell him how extraordinary Kate was. Then there was that kiss, and that massage, and that _night._ He smiled at the memory that was now flooding his mind. "_Where are we going?"_ Kate's voice flooded his ears as he squeezed his eyes shut. She'd asked him where they were going and he'd brushed it off. He had just wanted that one night. Wanted to massage the memory of Eric Vaughn away and show Kate just how much he loved her. Then he would propose and she would know exactly where they were going. Gorilla. Bigfoot. Drone. Everything was coming back to him so quickly, the pain in his head was starting up again and he forced himself to breathe, not wanting to pass out again, worried that all of this unconsciousness was not saving him any time in figuring out how to get out of wherever he was. Or at least figuring out how he had gotten there. Who was that man? That man who… who had given Kate a job offer. DC. In DC. It hit him in the gut so hard that it brought tears to his eyes. They fought. He stood in Kate's apartment, gripping a plane ticket between his fingers and looking down at her hoping she wasn't saying what she was saying. That she hadn't thought of him during this important decision, that the idea of their relationship hadn't even crossed her mind. That maybe she was nowhere close to ready for him to propose. He'd stormed out of the apartment. Gotten on the elevator. That was the last thing he remembered. No matter how much he tried to think about what happened next, the last thing he remembered was pressing the bottom floor button in the elevator before his knees had collapsed under him from so much frustration against himself, and he sat leaning against the elevator wall. He was going to go home and… and take the ring and… and do something to it. He hadn't quite figured that out but that was his plan. He could see the small glowing elevator button in the darkness, but couldn't remember a single thing after that moment. Had he been kidnapped on his way home? Had their case been bigger than they had realized? Was Kate out there looking for him, was she still at home? Was she in this room? His eye flew open but no matter how wide he opened it, he couldn't see a thing. "Kate." He whispered. He spoke up louder. "Kate, are you there?" The hoarseness of his voice startled him but it didn't matter. There was no response, he couldn't even hear movement. He tried to move one more time but the pain in his leg was too much. He settled for laying there, his right arm completely numb, the memory of his fight with Kate playing over and over in his head.


	10. Chapter 10

He thought he had been awake for hours, trying to keep his one good eye open in case the darkness suddenly changed. It was when a loud noise made him wince, pulling him out of a dream full of blackness, that he had realized he'd fallen asleep again. At first he thought he had imagined the noise, until a light turned on somewhere behind him and the yellow glow of a very dull bulb bounced off the wall in front of him. He could make out the outline of the room he was in. It was small, completely concrete, and he couldn't see the door from where he was lying on the ground but he assumed it was somewhere behind him. He still couldn't move, his right side completely numb, which had managed to take away some of the pain in his ankle but his head and his face were throbbing with each beat of his heart, which now raced under the sudden change in lighting. He couldn't hear anything, not even footsteps, so it made him wince from fright when he was suddenly being pulled through the air in one swift movement, and was set upright in the middle of the room. His head was spinning, and he'd managed to bite his lip in the process which only brought tears to his eyes. He blinked his eyes, or rather his one good eye, trying to adjust to the sudden brightness of the room. His neck was so strained he had a hard time looking around, and the numbness in his ankle was slowly wearing off so pain was shooting up his leg every few seconds. He suddenly found it hard to breathe and couldn't keep himself from coughing, only to see blood spew out of his mouth all over his pants. Looking down he confirmed what he had thought, he was wearing a tuxedo, but for the life of him he could not figure out why he was wearing one. He heard the loud noise again and the room was suddenly completely silent, he could only assume that whoever had been in the room had just left. He took the opportunity to force his neck to move, twisting it around he took in his surroundings, which weren't much. He was in a small, solid concrete room with no windows and one door. He could barely make out the small light bulb hanging from the ceiling near the door which was directly behind him, but he knew he shouldn't try and move his body in any direction. That was it. He was either in some basement or some very well structured warehouse in New York, and even when he thought about that he realized he wasn't sure if he actually was in New York. He didn't know what day it was, what time it was, where he was at, or how he had gotten there. The sudden wave of panic did not help his already throbbing head or his aching lungs.

The door opened, and he slowly lifted his head up to stare across at the empty walls. This time he heard footsteps, slow and deliberate, and when the door shut and he knew that the person was still in the room, he took the opportunity to speak up. "Where am I? How did I get here?" His voice was grainy, a sudden desperate need for water making his breathing shallow. There was no response, but he hadn't thought there would be one. He heard footsteps, slowly approaching him, and he shut his eyes to prepare for whatever was going to come next, he assumed it wasn't going to feel good.

"Mr. Castle. Are you telling me you don't remember what _day _it is?" He had been right. It didn't feel good to hear Senator Brackens voice reach across the room towards him. It made him wince and brought on a whole new wave of panic that he was having a hard time hiding. And what Bracken said made him realize he really had forgotten something, and whatever it was, it sounded like it was important. He decided not to respond, which only brought on the sound of more footsteps. "I'll take that as a yes. As for where you are, you shouldn't worry yourself about that too much; you won't be here for very much longer." He wasn't sure if that meant that he was going to be moved or was going to be killed, and he couldn't decide which one would be more painful. He went to say something but he coughed instead, and he tried to hide the pained expression that he knew was crawling across his face. But Bracken made no move to come around and face him; he kept pacing behind his back, probably strategically selecting every word he said.

"How did I get here?" Castle asked again, putting as much anger as he could manage behind his words, but it just made Bracken laugh.

"You don't remember? That's quite a shame. We really got to know each other over the last few hours. You are a very stubborn man Mr. Castle. I asked you over and over again, but you kept your mouth shut. That is, when I actually wanted you to say something. You're telling me you don't remember what happened to your ankle? Or how you got that nasty gash across your forehead?" Bracken paused, probably hoping for some acknowledgement of his teasing but Castle refused to move, so Bracken continued. "Of course, a hard blow to the head with a crowbar could make a man lose his memory, after all, you blacked out for several hours." Castle winced at the sudden flashback to Bracken standing over him, pain already scorching through his leg before the other man swung a black crowbar at his face. His head throbbed with the memory, he knew the cut had to be deep; his face was probably covered with blood. "You look like you remember that one." Bracken had circled in front of Castle without him knowing it and as Castle looked up into his eyes an incredibly horrific grin spread across Brackens face. The writer inside of him took note that that was what pure evil looked like. Bracken stood back a bit, maybe in fear that Castle was going to spit at him, because that was the only thing he would be able to do but he couldn't find the energy to do it. "How about my demand, Mr. Castle? Do you remember that yet?" Castle looked at him, not sure if his attempt to show Bracken how angry and disgusted he was with him was showing on his face at all. "Hunt, Mr. Castle. Agent Hunt. Where is he? I know you know where he is, and as I stated before and have proven to you countless times," Bracken waved his hand at Castle, indicating the various places that blood was still flowing from painful gashes all over his body. "I will do whatever it takes to find him." At the mention of Hunt, Castle suddenly remembered how he had gotten into this horrible painful mess. He had been attached to this chair, and there had been a baseball bat, Bracken himself wearing brass knuckles, and he was pretty sure there was even a taiser. He winced at the sudden memory, having a horrible time hiding his emotions from his face, Bracken just laughed again. "Yes, I didn't think you could forget that." Castle didn't know how to react. He remembered Bracken asking about Hunt, demanding Hunt, but he still couldn't remember anything before that. And even if he had known where Hunt was before, which he was pretty sure he didn't, there was no way he would know now.

"Why do – why do you want him?" Castle choked this out, every syllable screaming with how much he needed a glass of water. Bracken just stood back from him even more, sizing him up with his eyes.

"We've been over this before but I'll enlighten you because of your current situation. Hunt is your father, yes?" All Castle could do was meet Bracken's eyes once more. "Yes. So your father is a member of the CIA, and a member of the CIA has access to certain information. In any other circumstance that would be okay, but it turns out your father has been following your every move over the years. And it seems that he was doing some digging somewhere he shouldn't be digging. I have connections, Mr. Castle, as you well know, and some of them made it known to me that a government agent was looking into me. You and I both know I've done things, and in order for the balance of power to be kept, others can't know those things. Particularly a CIA agent whose son plans to marry someone who thinks she has blackmail against me, when we all know she doesn't." This news made Castle blink. So Bracken knew that they had nothing against them, somehow he thought that Hunt was in the CIA when Castle didn't even know that for sure, and how did he know that he was planning on proposing? The confusion must have spread across his face quickly because Bracken just smiled and shook his head. "Oh you must think I'm foolish. The things in this world that you don't know Mr. Castle. _They could fill a book_._" _Castle didn't know how to respond to any of this, but before he could come back with a witty remark, Bracken's cell phone rang in his pocket. He pulled it out and, glancing at Castle before he turned away to face the wall, he answered it. Castle couldn't hear who was on the other line but he knew it must have been important for Bracken to answer it in front of him. He strained his ears to hear but all he heard was Bracken's whispers that, even in this small room, he couldn't make out clearly. Bracken hung up the phone, triumph spreading across his face as he looked at Castle. "Good news, Mr. Castle. As I promised, you won't be in this room for very much longer." More panic rose inside of him as he heard the door to the room open. Bracken nodded at someone over Castle's shoulder.

"Wait." Castle croaked out, and Bracken held up a hand to whoever was behind him. "What – what day _is _it?" Castle asked, the one question that had been plaguing the back of his mind since Bracken had first spoken. Bracken just smiled at him, which made Castle's stomach turn.

"Why, Mr. Castle, it's your wedding day." Everything came flooding back to Castle at once, making his stomach turn even more and his head throb in pain as something was shoved over his head and everything went dark.


	11. Chapter 11

The bag was torn off his head and Castle had to blink at the sudden abundant of light entering the room. He was still attached to the chair, ropes tied too tight for him to even breathe right, and he had to squeeze his eyes shut to avoid his head throbbing even more from the light. When he finally felt a little less dizzy he opened his good eye to look around. He was in a very large empty room that reminded him of an empty floor of a warehouse, with large windows that let in hazy yellow light which made him believe the sun was close to setting.

"Your beloved Kate should be walking through those doors any moment now to save your life. Too bad it isn't going to do either of you any good." Castle was fighting back so many emotions he decided to stay silent. It was a lot to handle. He'd been in a state of delusion for the last few hours, not remembering anything. Once it all came flooding back to him, he had an extremely hard time processing any of it. This small remark was probably the fifth time Bracken had talked about ending Kate's life today, if indeed Bracken was telling the truth and it was still the evening of his wedding day. It had felt like he'd been in that concrete box for days. It was easier to take in his surroundings with all the windows letting in fresh light. The entire floor of the building originally looked like a deserted warehouse when the bag had first been torn off his head, but as he had more time to look around he realized he was in a deserted office building. He couldn't see anything out the windows but the pale grey carpet and white concrete pillars suggested they were in a deserted building that had once held cubicles and once smelled of stale coffee. Now it smelled of dust and mold and he tried to over look the various bloody stains in various spots around the room. They were hard to miss. This must be where Bracken does all of his business, extracting information from people before killing them. After all, that's what he had been doing to Castle.

Castle remembered standing on the balcony of his hotel room, his phone was in his hand as he re-read some of the things he'd written down for his vows. He took the ring box out of his pocket and fiddled with it a little before taking a step back inside. He stood there, back to the open balcony door, looking down at the shiny ring. He heard a noise behind him and he turned as a man in plain everyday clothes landed on the balcony with a gun in his hand. Castle hardly had enough time to react, his first instinct to call for help and the first person he thought of was Kate. He yelled out for help as the man pointed the gun at him and then grabbed him from behind, dragging him out the door. Castle tried to put up a fight and get to Kate's number in his phone, but the man swiftly knocked his phone and the ring box out of his hand. The last thing Castle saw was the man's foot crashing down on his phone before a sharp pain hit him across the head and everything went black.

Then he had woke up on a chair in that concrete room with Bracken standing in front of him, the man who had landed on his hotel balcony standing behind him. It didn't take long for Castle to notice the shiny brass knuckles accompanying Bracken's hand before they came in contact with the side of his face. Bracken wasn't playing games this time, and it only made things worse that Castle could not meet his demands. Bracken kept asking him where Hunt was, as if for some bizarre reason, Castle would be the one to know. Eventually when Castle hadn't responded after the fifth bloody contact with his jaw, Bracken started sputtering at him in a state of delusion. Castle had to shake himself to see that it was really happening. Bracken was breaking down, panic actually rising in his voice and all over his face as Castle kept the information from him. Too bad Bracken didn't understand that Castle knew absolutely nothing. When Castle had spit this response back at him for the tenth time, Bracken finally stood back to compose himself and stare straight into Castle's eyes.

"I got Detective Beckett that job!" Bracken yelled at him, anger seeping out of every poor of his body. Castle couldn't help but feel sorry for all the other people who had fallen victim under this man's insanity. When the incredibly confused expression spread across Castle's face Bracken just laughed. "You think she would have been offered that job without a little push from a high ranking politician? She's a good detective yes, but nowhere near the Attorney General's radar." Castle just shook his head at Bracken but he didn't pay him any attention. Castle knew that Kate was made for the job in DC. She'd been offered it fair and square because she was beyond_ good_, the word coming out of Bracken's mouth made Castle sick. Castle knew she was extraordinary and Kate knew it too. He'd seen her eyes light up at being professionally acknowledged for her greatness. Kate loved her new job, though they never really talked about it. "I had been looking for an opportunity for months, after finding out that I had a government agent looking into me. I needed to wipe him away and when that high profile case came Beckett's way all I had to do was put in a word and shove the right people in the right direction. That's all you ever have to do." The thought made Castle sick but he couldn't find any words to respond, which just made Bracken keep talking. "I knew it was only a matter of time before she'd come in contact with Hunt. If he didn't come to her, or her come across his information, I was sure you would press her to look into him. To find out who your father truly was." Bracken looked at him, searching Castle's face for any tell of information, but Castle wasn't giving off any. He simply didn't know. He had lived his entire life not knowing who his father was, the idea had never even crossed his mind to go searching for him after Paris. He just kept the small promise that Hunt had made, that they might be able to meet again one day, in the back of his mind. He hadn't even told Kate about meeting his father, he just didn't want to drag her into information that really didn't matter.

"I'm sure that isn't the first time you've been wrong." Castle's voice was strong as he looked up into Bracken's eyes, which only glared back with more anger than Castle had seen all day.

"Well if you aren't going to tell me Mr. Castle, looks like I'll have to make other arrangements." At that, Bracken signaled to the other man who had been standing quietly in the corner. Gripping a crowbar in his hand he walked over to Castle and then everything went black.

That was as much as Castle wanted to remember as he sat in this stale carpeted room. He didn't know what Bracken had planned on doing as a second resort but what Bracken had just said confirmed the horrible feeling Castle had in his gut. Bracken was going to drag Kate into this, into something she had no clue about. It was bad enough that Bracken had kidnapped him on his wedding day, ruining an entire event he and Kate had been fervently planning for the last four months, but now he had to drag her into something that was probably going to get her killed. "You were going to lure her here all along, weren't you? This was never about Hunt." Castle's hoarse voice broke the silent air across the large room, echoing through the emptiness.

"Of course it's about Hunt, Mr. Castle. He knows far too much and knows far too many people. Of course, with her new job, Kate is in the same situation. You on the other hand, you're just collateral, an extra string that needs to be cut before it gets in my way." Bracken was pacing the room, walking tall with an air of triumph about him that just made Castle roll his eyes, which was painful to do but worth the response it got from Bracken. "You think I'm joking Mr. Castle?" Before he could continue, Castle had his response ready.

"You haven't done it yet, how am I supposed to believe you aren't just trying to scare me? A CIA agent, or whatever you think Hunt is, an agent under the Attorney General and a well known author all dead? You think that isn't going to turn heads, and some in your direction?" Castle didn't know what he was trying to accomplish with his words, he didn't doubt for a second that Bracken would kill them all and clean up the mess it left behind. Castle's gut turned once more as he thought of Alexis, and hoped beyond hope that Kate made sure Alexis and his mom were protected before coming to save him. He knew that was what Kate was doing. There was no way Kate would come to Bracken if he summoned her. Castle knew, or just had a lot of hope riding on the idea that Kate was one step ahead of him. Though, it would have helped if Castle had told her about Hunt nine months ago, but Kate was amazing. She could figure it out. She _would_ figure it out. Bracken stood across the room, staring out the window as if he hadn't heard Castle's response.

"Oh Mr. Castle you are right about that one. It's always been _her." _Castle was taken by surprise, it was as if Bracken hadn't heard anything he just said but was stuck on Castle's original question. "Detective Katherine Beckett. I should have taken care of her the day I had her mother murdered. Who would have known she'd become _who she is_. It's sad really. All Johanna Beckett had to do was look away from one case, just _one._ Ironic. That's the same thing Detective Beckett had to do, and it's the same thing that's going to get her killed."

Castle had had enough. He tried to stand with his good foot, and with all the energy he could muster with the anger building up inside of him, he launched himself at Bracken. The chair was too heavy though, his body too bruised, he just landed awkwardly on the floor, his nose right next to Bracken's shoe. The wind had been knocked out of him, and he could hear the other man rushing behind him, but he managed enough energy to spit on Bracken's shoe before he was dragged back up and away from him. His attempt would have been worth it if the grin on Bracken's face hadn't grown even more when he looked back up at him. It took Castle a moment to notice the gun barrel pointed at the right side of his face, his swollen eye making it hard to see in that direction. It took all of his energy just to keep breathing, Bracken staring down at him, nothing was going to wipe that nasty grin off his face.

"You've got spirit, I'll give you that Mr. Castle." Bracken waved the man off and Castle could feel him walk away behind him as Bracken approached him in his chair quicker than he thought possible. He closed the gap in two quick strides and was face to face with him, his eyes daring Castle to spit on him now. "I was going to kill you first. Make them watch, make them see the destruction that they've brought upon themselves. But that little heroic act earned you a front row seat. I think you deserve to see Detective Beckett's life leave her, after putting up with everything that you have over the last few hours. You _deserve_ to see the death of a loved one, just like she did." Bracken just smiled at him as he backed away a bit, Castle unable to even show disgust on his face as he squeezed his eyes shut to block out the grin that was dancing in front of him.

Castle thought he was done talking, but Bracken had one last thing to say. And as the words escaped his mouth Castle squeezed his eyes shut tighter and hoped with all the energy he had left that Kate wasn't coming to save him. That she couldn't find Hunt, that she was going to walk away from him. He would do anything in the world to tell her to walk away right now, walk away from _them_, let Bracken take his life instead of hers. As Bracken spoke as he turned towards the windows again, Castle let all the energy escape him and wished that Kate wasn't the person that she was. Wasn't the person who he knew she was. The kind of person that would come running to place herself between the cross-hairs for him. And in the state that Castle was in, he wouldn't be able to stop her. Castle couldn't stop the tears falling from his eyes and stinging the cuts all over his face as Bracken's voice echoed across the room."I'll kill her first, just to see you not be able to stop me."


	12. Chapter 12

The elevator ding bounced off the silence in the room, drawing the attention of everyone to the small door settled neatly in the middle of the wall on the opposite side of the room. The noise bounced off the walls every time the elevator reached a new floor below them. Bracken waved off the man who was standing somewhere behind Castle, and Bracken took a step towards the elevator as it made its final ding. Castle let out a quiet "no" under his breath as the doors slid open. At first the small space was empty, until Kate Beckett stepped out of the shadows, exposing herself to the empty, silent, and unforgiving room. Castle wanted so badly to look away, for her to not see this state that he was in, but his eyes stayed glued to her, trying to scream at her to run.

* * *

The doors slid open in front of her to reveal a large empty office floor, what she had expected, but she hadn't expected that Castle would be the first person she saw. Sitting tied to a chair too far away for her to make any movement to help him, his eyes were glued to hers and she could read every expression all over his face. His face that was covered in blood with a horribly nasty cut across his forehead swelling one of his eyes shut, was screaming at her to run. Asking her why she was there, telling her it wasn't worth it. In the brief glance that she made towards him, nowhere did she see relief. She just saw the panic rise in him as she took a few more steps into the room to reveal Bracken standing near the windows.

* * *

Castle hadn't thought he could feel any more horrible in this moment but the sight of Kate walking through those doors made him want to scream at her to run, but he wasn't keeping Bracken to his promise that he would kill Kate first, him screaming out would likely get the both of them killed faster. The sight of Kate in her leather jacket, tall boots and jeans instead of her flak jacket, and with no sign of a gun made his eyes finally break away from her to look at Bracken. She had come unarmed. Unwilling to put up a fight, ready to jump in front of the gun that was planning on killing Castle. He was going to protest, going to finally break down and beg Bracken to kill him and let Kate live, but as he opened his mouth to speak Kate's eyes dashed back to him for a brief moment as if to tell him no. Like she had been watching him the entire time her eyes had been on Bracken.

"Where's Agent Hunt, Detective? I thought we had a deal." Bracken's voice was demanding yet horrifically playful as he started to walk towards her.

"He's right behind me. Wanted to give us a chance to talk." Kate's voice was stronger than Castle had ever heard it. She was demanding in her own way, prepared, like she was expecting everything, like she was one step ahead. Castle realized this was something only he could notice after spending so many years watching her in interrogation rooms, because Bracken didn't seem to notice anything.

"I see you came across my men downstairs, so I know you aren't armed. There is nothing to talk about Beckett. I want Hunt, then you can have your precious Castle and you can leave." Castle wanted to scream out at her that he was lying but her laugh caught him by surprise.

"Do you really think I'm that stupid? Castle was bait for me just as much as he was bait for Hunt. You aren't planning on letting me leave here alive, we both know that." Castle couldn't really believe what he was seeing, Kate was playing him. Bracken may not be able to see it but the laugh coming from her was telling Castle that she had a plan. Maybe that's what she was trying to do. To reassure Castle, to tell him that she had it under control, but Castle knew that even though it looked like Bracken wasn't armed, the man standing behind him was and Kate didn't know that he planned on killing her first.

"Bait. That's a strange word. I like leverage better. Leverage that would assure me that you would show up no matter what, with or without Hunt." Castle could see Bracken's eyes sizing Kate up as they slowly circled each other, probably unaware that they were doing it. He knew that Bracken was trying to carefully select his words but if Castle had learned anything over the last few hours, with enough pressure and panic, what Bracken was really thinking would flow out eventually. "But you're right, our deal has been broken for quite some time now, seeing as you don't _really_ have anything against me." This didn't shock Kate as much as it had shocked Castle, which told him that she was expecting that. And to be truthful, Castle had been as well. He knew it would be just a matter of time before Bracken was ready to attack again, even after Kate had saved his life.

"We may not have anything against you but we still know. You let Castle and me walk out of here today, we'll still hold our agreement, and you can have Hunt." Kate could barely get the part about Hunt out before Bracken was shaking his head at her.

"No no no Ms. Beckett, you don't get the power anymore. Or should I say, Mrs. Castle." Bracken's eyes moved towards Castle who just winced against the force of his smile. But Beckett's eyes never left Bracken and Castle couldn't blame her, he probably wasn't much to look at in his current state. Beckett just held her glare until Bracken moved to look back at her, their circling had stopped and now Bracken had his back to Castle. "Your fiancé wasn't much use to me. I had… wrongly assumed that he would have pressured you into looking into his father, what with your new connections." This brought a flash of confusion across Kate's face that Bracken must have noticed because he just laughed to himself. "You're as clueless as your writer boy." They started circling each other again slowly and Castle just let out a puff of air. This felt like it was going to go on forever and he could feel the man behind him, could feel his trigger finger itching. "I got you that job Beckett, so you could find Hunt." Bracken said it like he was just brushing the statement off, like he was tired of saying it, but it made Kate set her jaw, for the first time since walking out of the elevator, Castle saw anger in her eyes as she looked up at Bracken.

* * *

Kate couldn't decide if she was angry or just relieved that her prediction had come true. That what she had thought about Bracken, him pulling strings to get her this job, had been true. What Bracken didn't know was that was what was going to help her and Castle get out of there alive. She still let her anger seep through as she glared at him. "I don't _care_ what you've done, you aren't getting Hunt until Castle walks out of here alive." She made an aggressive step towards Bracken and heard a loud "Hey" come from Castle. When she took a step back and looked around Bracken she saw that Castle now had a gun to his head. She backed off Bracken, lifting her arms in the air slightly. She knew it would come off to Bracken as telling them to calm down while she was really carefully signaling the sniper on the roof across the street not to shoot the man with the gun just yet. Kate breathed. Bracken just brushed it off with laughter, waving his hand in the air and the man lowered his gun.

"You don't have the power, Ms. Beckett. You think this can be solved with balance. Balancing what you know against me in order to keep you alive. But you don't know much about power do you? Power is about imbalance. Having everything on your side. Tipping it so you're the only one who holds all the cards. You can't be in power anymore Ms. Beckett." They were circling each other again, Kate taking every step carefully, following Bracken's lead to make him feel like he was in control. "You're a woman who wears heels. You know imbalance is important. In walking, in standing tall above everyone you encounter to throw them off balance, to be intimidating. One has to have the power already to gain the greatest power in the world. That's why, as president, I won't be able to have my…dirty laundry, tucked away ready to be thrown out into the open. I foolishly thought it would be okay. But – your commitment with Mr. Castle brought to light something that is a little more of a problem. See. Mr Castle has a particular family member associated with the CIA. But you already know this." Kate tried to control her anger at Bracken suddenly trying to explain things to her that she already knew, her whole stance felt off without a gun in her hands. But this is exactly what she needed, she had Bracken exactly where she wanted. He may not be admitting to every little thing he's done to gain this power he's so proud about, but the wire running up the side of her leg was capturing him admitting how he needed to get rid of her, Castle and Hunt. That was enough for any jury. "The CIA, An organization, who if they were to gain knowledge of… some of the things I've been associated with, could manage to end my power. And that can't happen Ms. Beckett."

As if on cue, Kate heard the elevator ding downstairs. Hunt, through the wireless earpiece connected to the wire Beckett was wearing, had heard Bracken give the best admission they were going to get. Beckett took the elevator as a sign that Hunt had successfully taken down all of Brackens men downstairs, just like the plan.

"Ah. Agent Hunt has decided to grace us with his presence." Bracken's attention was now on the elevator door, the sound echoing through the room as it reached each floor below them. Kate took this moment of distraction to briefly glance at Castle, who was just staring at them trying not to show how much pain he was in, but she broke his eye contact to glance out the window and then quickly back to Bracken as the elevator made its final ding and the door opened.


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: This is the final chapter. I just wanted to thank all of you who have stuck through reading this. Reviewers, and the silent readers, just the idea that so many people have read and enjoyed my story really makes me happy. I hope you like how it ends, and again thank you, thank you so much. I am always on tumblr, if you're looking for more Castle to rip apart your feels or need someone to talk to before you explode from hiatus.**

* * *

Hunt slowly emerged from the elevator as Kate heard a small noise behind her and the sound of a body crumple to the floor. Bracken broke eye contact with Hunt as he turned on the spot to watch his only backup fall dead to the floor with a bullet through his head. Hunt took the moment to quietly toss Kate's gun to her across the room. The look of control on Bracken's face was wiped away to show pure panic behind his eyes. When he turned back, Hunt had a gun pointed at him as he continued to slowly walk towards them. Kate was standing off to the side, prepared to move out of the way if bullets started flying. But Bracken was more prepared than they had realized. The panic left his eyes as in one swift movement he pulled a gun out of almost nowhere. The look on Castle's face told Kate he hadn't known he was armed either. Kate expected the gun to be pointed at her but instead Bracken walked backwards with the barrel pointed at Castle's head. Hunt immediately lowered his weapon without needing to be asked which just made Bracken smirk.

"Agent Hunt, did you expect me to be unarmed, knowing that you would arrive?" Bracken's attention was completely focused towards Hunt, as if Kate no longer existed, like she was no longer his biggest threat. "It's nice to finally meet you, to meet someone who has put more people in the ground than I have." Bracken's gun was still pointed at Castle's head as he stood behind him, slowly making his way to the door near the corner of the room. Kate gripped her gun in her hand but knew she wouldn't have a good shot as long as Bracken had a gun on Castle. She had told the men outside specifically that Bracken could not be killed, and any shot from them wasn't guaranteed. Kate didn't even bother looking at Bracken as he kept spitting things at Hunt that didn't matter. She kept her eyes glued on Castle and it was then that she noticed his mouth moving. Castle was trying to mouth something to Kate but his swollen lip and bloody face was making it hard for her to figure it out without bringing attention to herself. Hunt was distracting Bracken easily enough, but Bracken was still getting closer to the door. Then it clicked and Kate understood what Castle was saying. "Shoot him." She nodded her head briefly and gripped her gun a little tighter. Castle nodded slightly and mouthed "one." Kate took a breath. "Two." She gripped her gun tighter, and as Castle mouthed "three" he threw himself and the chair to the floor as Kate raised her gun and shot Bracken. Not before Bracken could get a shot out first but Kate didn't notice which direction it went before her shot had knocked the gun out of his hand. She'd been aiming for his head that time, prepared to finally end his life before he could do more harm to Castle, but her second shot hit him in the shoulder where she _had_ been aiming and knocked him to the ground. Kate was halfway to Castle's side before she looked back at Hunt. He was on the ground, hand covering his shoulder, Bracken's last shot had managed to clip Hunt but he didn't look badly injured. She faltered for a second before he just smiled at her and waved her off. That man was strange, shot and smiling, but she went with it. Kate was by Castle's side as men entered through the door Bracken had been trying to leave through. Kate had sent them to the floors above them to make sure they were empty, and then they were to wait before coming in to arrest Bracken. Now they had their guns pointed at him, flipping him over and handcuffing him, she could briefly hear them reading out his rights as she reached Castle.

She went to move him, "Just cut me off the thing." He managed to croak out, and a knife was handed to her before she could ask for one. Hunt was kneeling by her side, blood flowing out of his shoulder but he didn't seem to be paying much attention to it. When Kate had cut the ropes, Hunt tossing the chair out of the way, she laid Castle down on the floor. Paramedics were already on his other side before they could say two words to each other, but Kate just looked down into Castle's good eye and laughed as he tried to make some sort of smile while swatting at the paramedics, "I'm fine, I'm fine." He managed to push one of them aside long enough to push himself up on his hand and come in contact with Kate's lips. He winced as it stung his bottom lip but he doesn't care, and the taste of blood doesn't bother her either. She grips his head and when they part his eyes flutter and she gently sets them back on the ground, gripping a good part of his arm.

"Castle, you are not fine, let them look at you." He smiled up at her and she just smiled back down as the paramedics lifted him onto a gurney. He kept brushing them away and telling them that he was fine. Kate looked over at Bracken who was now handcuffed to his own gurney that was surrounded by federal agents, and being quickly checked out by paramedics. Looking back at Castle who was finally letting the paramedics check out his ankle, she maked her way over to Bracken, passing Ryan and Esposito who had finally made it up the elevator.

Bracken glared up at her through the arms of paramedics as they dressed his gunshot wound, which seemed to have gone all the way through so Kate knew he'd live. She knew that was what needed to happen, but part of her wished she hadn't missed the first time and that he was lying dead on the ground. "Looks like your aim is a little off, Detective Beckett."

"Oh the point was never to kill you, Senator. You know I'll do anything to protect the ones I love though, so my first shot may have been a little off, but the second, no. You see, it's not about power, it's not about _balance,_ it's about justice. All of the victims, all of the people that you have hurt, are finally going to have justice." Bracken still managed to let out a laugh as he looked up at Beckett, the paramedics finally done, the federal agents were ready to take him into custody.

"You still don't have anything against me, Detective Beckett. I was simply using my gun to defend myself." It was Kate's turn to laugh.

"I would say a recording of everything you've said this evening is enough. Admitting to pre-meditated murder would have been plenty, but we'll just have to wait and see exactly what it was that you said, Senator." At that, the federal agents wheeled Bracken towards the elevator, and the last thing Kate saw was the look of angry confusion across his face, his hand swatting away paramedics as the elevators shut.

Castle, Kate and Hunt were escorted down by Ryan and Esposito with a slew of paramedics and federal agents. Taking Hunt and Castle to the waiting ambulances, Kate walked away to make a phone call.

* * *

"So you actually came." Castle had finally gotten the drink of water he needed as he refused to lay down on his gurney and sat on the edge of the ambulance next to Hunt as the paramedics continued to clean up the cut on his forehead and check out Hunt's bleeding shoulder.

"I was actually already here. I came to see you get married." At this news Castle couldn't decide what to think.

"So Kate didn't actually find you…"

"I found her. I saw the commotion, I'd been keeping an eye on you two since you arrived at the hotel, and when I saw the agents outside your room I went to Kate's room where I heard them talking about needing to find me." Hunt just looked at Castle who was trying to process everything.

"So it was all luck." Castle said, unable to decide if he was relieved or a little worried that if Hunt hadn't been there everything could have went very differently. Hunt just nodded a little.

"Bracken babbled on a lot about how Katherine would have been able to find me. I don't think even with her connections at the Attorney General's office she would have been able to." Hunt winced a little as the paramedic finished wrapping his shoulder and gave him a shot of pain killer. Castle's face was finally clearing up as the blood stopped trickling down his forehead and they had wiped most of the dried blood away to reveal his slowly bruising skin underneath.

"So it would have all been for nothing." Castle couldn't really believe that they had been so lucky, but he quickly forgot it as he caught Kate's eye as she made her way back to them. Hunt turned to Castle with a smile as Kate approached.

"I can tell she's not the biggest fan of mine." Hunt said, and Castle just turned to him as Kate sat next to Castle on the back of the ambulance, gripping his hand.

"Don't worry. It took her a while to warm up to me too." Castle squeezed Kate's hand and she just smiled.

"I actually think you've got a head start." She was looking over at Hunt as she spoke. "I think we're on the same level." After everything they'd been through all Kate had to do was look at Hunt for him to understand what she meant. "I hated Castle's guts when I first met him." She said as she lightly nudged Castle's shoulder with a little laughter in her voice. She looked Castle in the eyes as the light twinkled in his and they just sat there smiling at each other.

"I grew on her." He squeezed her hand and she squeezed right back, refusing to break eye contact this time.

After explaining to almost every paramedic on the scene that he was going to be fine, Hunt stood watching as Castle bickered with them to let him go home as well, but they weren't letting that happen.

"So this is it. You disappear again." Castle felt a little disappointed but had come to expect that it might be like this every time they saw each other.

"I don't know Richard, things might be a little different now. Plus, never really got to explain myself to your mother, she's probably got a grudge against me now."

"No more than she already did." Castle playfully tossed at him as he smiled. Castle held out his good arm and they shook hands.

"I think we'll see each other sooner than you'd expect." Hunt looked over at Kate and winked, Castle barely catching it as Hunt turned to walk away across the parking lot. Castle just looked down at Kate with a raised eyebrow as he finally made his way into the ambulance, Kate following right behind her as they shut the doors. Castle decided not to ask, at least not tonight.

"Really wish we could just go home." Castle whined a little, looking over at Kate with a playful grin.

"I think we might be able to streamline the hospital visit." That's all Kate said as she sat next to him, squeezing Castle's hand while he refused to lay down on the gurney.

"So, looks like your new job lends you to a handful of agents at your command." Castle tried to sound like he wasn't surprised, but they had never really talked about what her new job was like and he really didn't know how much power she had.

"Just a small little favor the Attorney General threw my way, in honor of my last case." This made Castles head turn a little too quickly in her direction.

"Last case?" Kate just nodded. Castle couldn't tell if she wanted to talk about it or not, so he didn't press it, hoping his silence would just make her shed a little light on the matter.

"This job in DC isn't for me… anymore. I may be made for the job, but it's not what I want." She just squeezed his hand which told him everything he needed to know. "Bracken's case is even above my pay grade, so it seems like it's all finally over." She was fiddling with Castle's hand, not wanting to let go. "Plus, we're in New York. A familiar bed sounds incredibly too nice right now. And I called Martha, her and Alexis will be taking care of everything in DC before they come home. Figured we could get our things in DC in a few days, seeing as Gates doesn't know I'll be asking for my job back, I think we'll have a while before she comes around." Kate was all smiles, her whole face was radiating so much joy Castle was having a hard time not leaning into it, wanting to breathe in the happiness, but he knew his face was way too sore to do much beyond the soft kiss he left on her forehead as she leaned into him gently.

Somehow Kate had been right. The hospital visit was incredibly streamlined and Castle had a feeling it was some left over perks of Kate's favor from the Attorney General. They were there for maybe an hour, giving Castle time to catch up with Ryan and Esposito before they went back to the precinct to finish up some things, and Castle was released to go home with Kate.

Kate managed to help Castle into the loft while he failed to balance himself on the crutches he had to use because of his badly sprained ankle. She was thankful that it wasn't broken, seeing as the last time he broke part of his leg she had to stage an entire murder just to keep him from being bored. This time though, she would get to spend all day with him, knowing that she wouldn't be able to go back to work at the precinct for at least a little while.

* * *

When Kate entered Castle's loft she tried to soak everything in but it was all throwing off her senses. When Kate had made the decision to move to DC, Castle insisted on moving anything she didn't want to immediately take with her into his loft. His mother would still be living there, and Alexis too once she got back from Costa Rica. When she'd last seen the loft, her boxes were piled in one corner, her couch awkwardly sitting in the middle of the room and various paintings had been set against the walls. The loft her and Castle walked into was completely different. Over the last three months Martha had taken the liberty of incorporating all of Kate's things throughout the apartment. Martha had called Kate several times, asking if it was okay to open her boxes and maybe move some of her things around. Kate was completely fine with it, most of the things were small keepsakes she couldn't get rid of or bigger things that she couldn't take with her. Castle had insisted on getting an already furnished apartment to make things easier in DC, and she had obliged because they really didn't have the time to move furniture around. Castle had already paid a fortune for what he called the best moving company in the city to help move Kate out of her apartment in two days. She didn't want him spending even more money just so she could move some of the things that reminded of her home to DC. At the time, he was all she needed. But walking into this loft literally took her breath away. It was completely the same, but that Picasso painting that had been hanging by the door had been replaced with one her favorite paintings. Her couch had replaced Castle's and was covered in her decorative pillows. Castle's couch had been moved to his study along with, was that? That was her desk next to his. Martha was some kind of interior decorating genius. She had completely rearranged Castle's office but it fit so well. Kate was unsure how Castle would feel about it, but it had all been temporary anyways. It wasn't until she followed Castle into his bedroom that she was really shaken by the changes. Her dresser, which she really hadn't wanted to leave behind, sat on her side of the bed, topped with photos she had left behind and even Martha had outdone herself by stacking all of her most worn books on top. Including Hell Hath No Fury, which looked like it was going to come out of its binding. It wasn't until she saw the photo of her mother on the bedside table that the biggest grin spread across her face. This was her home. It felt right, everything about it. Martha had done a wonderful job and she couldn't help but soak in the feeling of finally being back in New York, and permanently.

She stood at the foot of the bed, staring at Castle who had barely managed to take of his shoes and pants before crawling into bed. Lying on his back, he was almost asleep if he wasn't already when his head hit the pillow. Kate pulled a pair of yoga pants and a loose shirt she knew she had left behind out of the top drawer of her dresser, and pulling them on she crawled into bed next to him. Though it was more like on top of him, as she managed to wrap her arms around him, squeezing her arm underneath his back, she held onto him with her head on his chest. Me moved a little, arms outstretching, not knowing where to put them or how to react to her sudden closeness. "Kate, are you okay?" all she could do was hold him tighter and squeeze her eyes shut against the world. To lie there and breathe him in. She drew in an extremely ragged breathe that almost seemed to draw his arms in around her. He held on tightly too, but she just squeezed back, trying to be as gentle as her emotions would let her, and they laid there unmoving, their chests rising and falling in unison. A few minutes passed before a strangled sob escaped Kate's lips and a tear trickled down her face. She had spent most of the day forcing herself not to cry, forcing herself not to crawl into a ball. Then she was overcome with how everything went, all she could do was smile at Castle and be happy that he was alive. Thinking of this, she hugged him tighter and he held her closer, pulling her up closer to his face so he could kiss her on the forehead. "shhh Kate, it's okay. I'm here. I'm okay." His voice was low and calming, it vibrated through his chest and she griped his shirt as if trying to capture it in her hands. She moved her hand up around his neck, stroking his cheek with her thumb, catching a tear as she did so. She looked up at him, his tshirt sticking to her face with her salty tears before falling back down to cling to his chest. She just looked at him with a puzzled look, and a grin spread across his face. He reached up and gripped the side of her face. "I'm just happy to be here. To be alive, for you to…" Kate captured the last few words he was trying to say with her mouth as she pressed her lips against his. The sudden and intense pressure made him wince and she had to pull back, a small regretful grin on her lips as she remembered how badly bruised his face was.

"Sorry." She whispered. And he just shook his head and pulled her closer. Softly pressing his lips against hers, she returned it softly but could still feel the overwhelming passion behind it. He pulled her closer and she nestled her face into his neck, the spot where she fit so perfectly. Practically lying on top of him, she kissed his neck and closed her eyes, him doing the same as they each tried to soak as much of the other in as possible. "I love you so much." She whispered into his neck, the sudden breathe sending goose bumps across his skin. He heaved the biggest sigh she could have ever imagined and she gripped his shirt in her hands as he did so.

"I love you, Kate." He said into the silent room, the sound echoing all around her as she tried to close the nonexistent empty space between them even more. Resting her nose against his neck, his arms gripping her a little tighter, they both whispered the one word at the same time. The one word that meant more to each of them than any wedding vows ever could. At the same time, they both whispered "Always," and silently drifted off to sleep.


End file.
